cT 


ELIAS  HOWE,   JR. 


ROOM   AT    THE    TOP: 


OR,  HOW  TO    REACH 


Success,  Happiness 


Fame  and  Fortune. 


WITH  BIOGRAPHICAL  NOTICES  OF  SUCCESSFUL,  SELF-MADE  MEN, 
WHO  HAVE  RISEN  FROM  OBSCURITY  TO  FAME,  INCLUDING 


GEN.  JAS.  A.  GARFIELD, 

ELIHU  B.  WASHBURNE,  DWIGHT  L.  MOODY. 

CORNELIUS  VANDERBILT,  GEORGE     PEABODY, 

ROBERT  FULTON,  ELIAS  HOWE,  JR., 

HIRAM  POWERS,  JAY  GOULD, 

THURLOW    WEED. 


WITH  TEN  PORTRAITS ;  ALSO  RULES  FOR  BEHAVIOR 

IN  SOCIETY. 


BY     A.     CRAIG. 

, 


"     ,,     '       <•'    » 


n     *    .      .  »      '     .   v    " 

-     '       -  -         -  • 


AUGUSTA,   MAINE  : 
TRUE  &  CO. 


COPYRIGHT, 
BY  TRUE  &  COMPANY. 


PREFACE. 


f^OOM     AT    THE    TOP— always    room    there. 
L     Life  has  been  likened    to  a   ladder,    the   top 

ra    round  of  which  many  people  find  it  difficult 

to  reach,    some   making   but   few  steps   upward,   and 
others  becoming  disheartened  when  almost  at  the  top. 

The  aim  of  this  book  is  to  set  forth  in  plain,  prac- 
tical words,  the  best  and  truest  course  to  pursue  to 
reach  the  highest  aims  and  end  of  life — SUCCESS, 
HAPPINESS,  FAME  AND  FORTUNE. 

To  the  young  man  starting  out  in  life,  who  faithfully 
follows  its  teachings,  it  will  act  as  a  counselor,  guide 
and  friend. 

The  Biographical  Sketches  will  show  him  what  self- 
taught,  hard-working,  earnest  men  have  accomplished, 
and  act  as  an  incentive  to  perseverance  and  deter- 
mination in  the  effort  to  conquer  all  obstacles. 

The  RULE  FOR  BEHAVIOR  will  help  him  to  acquire 
that  gentlemanly  deportment  and  politeness  which 
tend  to  grace  a  man's  intercourse  with  those  with 
whom  he  is  associated. 

The  selections  have  been  culled  from  the  works  of 
well-known  writers,  whom  opinions  and  authority  upon 
such  subjects  are  of  great  value  and  interest. 

That  many  young  men  may  find  this  little  work  of 
great  service  to  them  in  their  laudable  efforts  to  suc- 
ceed in  life,  is  the  sincere  desire  of 

THE    AUTHOR. 

CHICAGO,  1882. 

269554 


PORTRAITS. 


ELIHU  B.  WASHBURNE. 


DWIGHT  LYMAN  MOODY. 


GEORGE  PEABODY. 


CORNELIUS  VANDERBILT. 


ROBERT  FULTON. 


GEN.  JAS.  A.  GARFIELD 


ELIAS  HOWE. 


HIRAM  POWERS. 


JAY  GOULD. 


THURLOW  WEED. 


CONTENTS. 


PAGB 

» 

SUCCESS  AND  HAPPINESS     .  14 

The  Beginning  of  Life           .         .         .         *  16 

Begin  Well 19 

What  To  Do         ......  20 

What  Am  I  Fit  For 24 

Resistance  to  Temptation     ....  33 

A  High  Standard  Necessary     ....  37 

All  Honest  Industry  Honorable    ...  38 

Money-Making 39 

The  Love  of  Money 43 

Riches  No  Proof  of  Worth        ....  44 

Evils  of  Self-indulgence       ....  46 

Power  of  Money  Over-Estimated      ...  47 

Failure  of  Rich  Men's  Sons          ...  48 

True  Respectability 49 

Living  Too  High 51 

Application  and  Perseverance  .         .         .  52 

Sedulity  and  Diligence           ....  56 

Good  Counsel  .         .         .         .         .         .        •  57 


Vlll  CONTENTS. 

PAGE 

Courage  of  Hope          .         .         .        •••.'.  59 

Choose  Good  Companions         ....  60 

Love  of  Knowledge      .         .         .         .         .  61 

Self-Denial        .......  63 

Idleness  Not  Happiness       ....  64 

Procrastination          .         .         .         .         .         .  65 

Value  of  Time 66 

Value  of  Odd  Moments 67 

Behind  Time         ......  68 

One  by  One  (poetry)         .         .         .         .  71 

Learning  in  Youth        .....  72 

The  Power  of  Kindness   ...  T-J 

t  \J 

Let  Bygones  be  Bygones  (poetry)          .         .  74 

Thoughtlessness  of  Youth         .         .         .  75 

Washington  on  Swearing      .          .         .         .  76 

Beware  of  Little  Sins       .         .         .         .  77 

Conscientiousness  in  Small  Things       .         .  78 

Effects  of  Worry       .         ...         .  .80 

Keep  Your  Temper      .         .         .         .         .  81 

Truth  and  Falsehood        .         .         .         .  .82 

Characters 83 

Wisdom  and  Goodness              „         .         .  91 

Energy  and  Courage     .....  94 

Force  of  Purpose -95 

Promptitude  and  Decision    ....  98 


CONTENTS.  ix 

PAGE 

Riches  and  Refinement  99 

The  Strength  of  Silence        .         .         .         .  100 

Correct  Speech          .         .         .         .         .         .  101 

Coarseness   .......  102 

Ready  Men 103 

Timely  Jests          .         .         .         .         .         .  106 

The  Steady  and  Sober  Succeed         .         .         .  107 

Courage  in  Sickness      .         .         .         .         .  108 

How  to  Read .no 

What  to  Read       .         .         .         .         .         .  in 

How  to  Enjoy 123 

What  to  Enjoy 130 

Marriage 135 

Why  a  Man  Needs  a  Wife    .         .         .         .  136 

Happiness 137 

Success         .         .         .         .         .         .         .  143 

The  Irreparable  Past 147 

Prepared  for  the  End 150 

THRIFT. 

Industry 156 

Habits  of  Thrift 169 

Methods  of  Economy       .....  192 

SELF-MADE  MEN 197 


X  CONTENTS. 


PAGE 


Elihu  B.  Washburne  ......  204 

Dwight  Lyman  Moody  o         .-.-..  226 

George  Peabody       ...  .         .  240 

Cornelius  Vanderbilt    .         .         .         -.         .  257 

Robert  Fulton  .  266 

Gen.  James  A.  Garfield         «...  280 

Elias  Howe       .......  292 

Hiram  Powers      .  303 

Jay  Gould         .         .         .         .         .         0         .  315 

Thurlow  Weed      .         .         .         .         .         .  327 

RULES  FOR  BEHAVIOR.         ...  ?qi 

w  %J 

Etiquette ,  353 

Introductions -357 

Letters  of  Introduction         .  359 

Salutes  and  Salutations 361 

Calls     ....         o         ...  364 

Conversation     .         .         .         .  .         .  370 

Street  Etiquette    ......  378 

Travelling          .......  383 

Etiquette  in  Church      .....  385 

Etiquette  for  Places  of  Amusement  .         .         .  387 

Table  Etiquette    ......  389 

The  Gentleman's  Toilette          .  392 

Miscellaneous       ......  396 


WORK    AWAY! 


away  ' 

For  the  Master's  eye  is  on  us. 

Never  off  us,  still  upon  us. 

Night  and  day  ! 

Work  away  ! 

Keep  the  busy  fingers  plying  t 
Keep  the  ceaseless  shuttles  flying  ; 
See  that  never  thread  lie  wrong  ; 
Let  not  clash  or  clatter  round  us, 
Sound  of  whirring  wheels  confound  us; 
Steady  hand  !  let  woof  be  strong 
And  firm,  that  has  to  last  so  long  ! 
Work  away  ! 

Bring  your  axes,  woodmen  true  , 
Smite  the  forest  till  the  blue 
Of  Heaven's  sunny  eye  looks  through 
Every  wide  and  tangled  glade  ; 
Jungle  swamp  and  thicket  shade 

Give  to-day  ! 

O'er  the  torrent's  fling  your  bridges. 
Pioneers  !  Upon  the  ridges 
Widen,  smooth  the  rocky  stair— 
They  that  follow,  far  behind, 


13  SUCCESS  AND  HAPPINESS. 

Coming  after  us,  will  find 
Surer,  easier,  footing  there  ; 
Heart  to  heart,  and  hand  with  hand, 
From  the  dawn  to  dusk  of  day, 

Work  away  ! 

Scouts  upon  the  mountain's  peak — 
Ye  that  see  the  Promised  Land, 
Hearten  us  !  for  ye  can  speak 
Of  the  country  ye  have  scann'd, 

Far  away ! 

Work  away  ! 

For  the  Father's  eye  is  on  us. 
Never  off,  still  upon  us, 

Night  and  day  ! 

WORK  AND  PRAY  ! 
Pray  !  and  Work  will  be  completer , 
Work  !  and  Prayer  will  be  the  sweeter ; 
Love  !  and  Prayer  and  Work  the  fleeter 
Will  ascend  upon  their  way  ! 

Live  in  Future  as  in  Present ; 
Work  for  both  while  yet  the  day 
Is  our  own  !  for  Lord  and  Peasant, 
Long  and  bright  as  Summer's  day, 
Cometh,  yet  more  sure,  more  pleasant, 
Cometh  soon  our  Holiday  ; 
Work  away  ! 

— THE  AUTHOR  OF  "  THE  PATIENCE  OF  HOPE." 


SUCCESS 


AND 


HAPPINESS. 


THE  BEGINNING  OF  LIFE. 

[HERE  is  a  charm  in  opening  manhood  which 
has  commended  itself  to  the  imagination  in 
every  age.  The  undefined  hopes  and  promises 
of  the  future — the  dawning  strength  of  intellect — the 
vigorous  flow  of  passion — the  very  exchange  of  home 
ties  and  protected  joys  for  free  and  manly  pleasures, 
give  to  this  period  an  interest  and  excitement  unfelt, 
perhaps,  at  any  other.  It  is  the  beginning  of  life  in 
the  sense  of  independent  and  self-supporting  action. 
Hitherto  life  has  been  to  boys,  as  to  girls,  a  derivative 
and  dependent  existence — a  sucker  from  the  parent 
growth — a  home  discipline  of  authority  and  guidance 
and  communicated  impulse.  But  henceforth  it  is  a 
transplanted  growth  of  its  own — a  new  and  free  power 
of  activity,  in  which  the  mainspring  is  no  longer 
authority  or  law  from  without,  but  principle  or  opinion 
from  within.  The  shoot  which  has  been  nourished 
under  the  shelter  of  the  parent  stem,  and  bent  accord- 
ing to  its  inclination,  is  transferred  to  the  open  world, 
where  of  its  own  impulse  and  character  it  must  take 


17  SUCCESS  AND  HAPPINESS. 

root,  and  grow  into  strength,  or  sink  into  weakness 
and  vice. 

There  is  a  natural  pleasure  in  such  a  change.  The 
sense  of  freedom  is  always  joyful,  at  least  at  first.  The 
mere  consciousness  of  awakening  powers  and  prospec- 
tive work  touches  with  elation  the  youthful  breast. 

But  to  every  right-hearted  youth  this  time  must  be 
also  one  of  severe  trial.  Anxiety  must  greatly  dash 
its  pleasure.  There  must  be  regrets  behind,  and  uncer- 
tainties before.  The  thought  of  home  must  excite  a 
pang  even  in  the  first  moments  of  freedom.  Its  glad 
shelter — its  kindly  guidance — its  very  restraints,  how 
dear  and  tender  must  they  seem  in  parting!  How 
brightly  must  they  shine  in  the  retrospect  as  the  youth 
turns  from  them  to  the  hardened  and  unfamiliar  face 
of  the  world!  With  what  a  sweet,  sadly-cheering 
pathos  must  they  linger  in  the  memory !  And  then 
what  chance  and  hazard  is  there  in  his  newly-gotten 
freedom !  What  instincts  of  warning  in  its  very  nov- 
elty and  dim  inexperience.  What  possibilities  of  fail- 
ure as  well  as  of  success  in  the  unknown  future  as  it 
stretches  before  him! 

Serious  thoughts  like  these  more  frequently  underlie 
the  careless  neglect  of  youth  than  is  supposed.  They 
do  not  show  themselves,  or  seldom  do ;  but  they  work 
deeply  and  quietly.  Even  in  the  boy  who  seems  all 


THE  BEGINNING  OF  LIFE.  18 

absorbed  in  amusement  or  tasks,  there  is  frequently  a 
secret  life  of  intensely  serious  consciousness,  which 
keeps  questioning  with  itself  as  to  the  meaning 
of  what  is  going  on  around  him,  and  what  may  be 
before  him — which  projects  itself  into  the  future,  and 
rehearses  the  responsibilities  and  ambitions  of  his 
career. 

Certainly  there  is  a  grave  importance  as  well  as  a 
pleasant  charm  in  the  beginning  of  life.  There  is  awe 
as  well  as  excitement  in  it,  when  rightly  viewed.  The 
possibilities  that  lie  in  it  of  noble  or  ignoble  work — of 
happy  self-sacrifice  or  ruinous  self-indulgence — the 
capacities  in  the  right  use  of  which  it  may  rise  to 
heights  of  beautiful  virtue,  in  the  abuse  of  which  it 
may  sink  to  depths  of  debasing  vice — make  the  crisis 
one  of  fear  as  well  as  of  hope,  of  sadness  as  well  as  of 
joy.  It  is  wistful  as  well  as  pleasing  to  think  of  the 
young  passing  year  by  year  into  the  world,  and 
engaging  with  its  duties,  its  interests,  and  temptations. 
Of  the  throng  that  struggle  at  the  gates  of  entrance, 
how  many  reach  their  anticipated  goal?  Carry  the 
mind  forward  a  few  years,  and  some  have  climbed  the 
hills  of  difficulty  and  gained  the  eminence  on  which 
they  wished  to  stand — some,  although  they  may  not 
have  done  this,  have  yet  kept  their  truth  unhurt,  their 
integrity  unspoiled ;  but  others  have  turned  back,  or 


19  SUCCESS  AND  HAPPINESS. 

have  perished  by  the  way,  or  fallen  in  weakness  of  will, 
no  more  to  rise  again. 

As  we  place  ourselves  with  the  young  at  the  opening 
gates  of  life,  and  think  of  the  end  from  the  beginning, 
it  is  a  deep  concern  more  than  anything  else  that  fills 
us.  Words  of  earnest  argument  and  warning  counsel 
rather  than  of  congratulation  rise  to  our  lips.  The 
seriousness  outweighs  the  pleasantness  of  the  prospect 


BEGIN    WELL 

kT  is  a  great  point  for  young  men  to  begin  well ; 
for  it  is  in  the  beginning  of  life  that  that  system 
of  conduct  is  adopted,  which  soon  assumes  the 
force  of  Habit.  Begin  well,  and  the  habit  of  doing 
well  will  become  quite  as  easy  as  the  habit  of  doing 
badly.  "  Well  begun  is  half  ended,"  says  the  proverb ; 
"and  a  good  beginning  is  half  the  battle."  Many 
promising  young  men  have  irretrievably  injured  them- 
selves by  a  first  false  step  at  the  commencement  of 
life ;  while  others,  of  much  less  promising  talents,  have 
succeeded  simply  by  beginning  well,  and  going  onward. 
The  good  practical  beginning  is,  to  a  certain  extent,  a 
pledge,  a  promise,  and  an  assurance  of  the  ultimate 
prosperous  issue.  There  is  many  a  poor  creature,  now 


WHAT  TO  DO.  20 

crawling  through  life,  miserable  himself  and  the  cause 
of  sorrow  to  others,  who  might  have  lifted  up  his  head 
and  prospered,  if,  instead  of  merely  satisfying  himself 
with  resolutions  of  well-doing,  he  had  actually  gone  to 
work  and  made  a  good  practical  beginning. 

Too  many  are,  however,  impatient  of  results.  They 
are  not  satisfied  to  begin  where  their  fathers  did,  but 
where  they  left  off.  They  think  to  enjoy  the  fruits  of 
industry  without  working  for  them.  They  cannot  wait 
for  the  results  of  labor  and  application,  but  forestall 
them  by  too  early  indulgence. 


WHAT  TO  DO. 

"O  the  young  who  stand,  as  it  were,  on  the 
threshold  of  the  great  workhouse  of  the  world, 
preparing  to  take  their  part  in  it,  it  becomes  a 
serious  and  urgent  consideration  what  part  they  are  to 
take  in  it.  After  the  formation  of  Christian  principles, 
the  choice  of  a  profession  is  the  most  serious  'con- 
sideration that  can  engage  their  attention. 

Perhaps  the  first  step  in  the  consideration  is  to 
realize  the  necessity  of  having  definite  work  to  do, 
and  the  real  worth,  and,  if  we  may  say  so,  sacredness 
of  all  honest  work.  There  are  few  men  who  escape 


21  SUCCESS  AND  HAPPINESS. 

the  necessity  of  adopting  some  calling  or  profession ; 
and  there  are  fewer  still  who,  if  they  rightly  under- 
stood their  own  interest  and  happiness,  would  ever 
think  of  such  an  escape.  For,  according  to  that  law 
of  work  of  which  we  have  already  spoken,  life  finds  its 
most  enjoy  able  action  in  regular  alternations  of  employ- 
ment and  leisure.  Without  employment  it  becomes  a 
tedium,  and  men  are  forced  to  make  work  for  them- 
selves. They  turn  their  very  pleasures  into  toil,  and 
undertake,  from  the  mere  want  of  something  to  do, 
the  most  laborious  and  exhausting  pastimes.  To  any 
healthy  nature,  idleness  is  an  intolerable  burden  ;  and 
\ts  enforced  endurance  a  more  painful  penance  than 
the  hardest  labors. 

It  is  not  easy,  however,  for  the  young  to  realize 
this.  "  Play  "  has  been  such  a  charm  to  their  school- 
boy fancy,  that  they  sometimes  dream  that  they  would 
like  life  to  be  all  play.  They  are  apt,  at  least,  to  take 
to  regular  work  with  something  of  a  grudge.  They 
have  so  many  delays  and  difficulties  about  a  profession, 
that  time  passes  on  and  they  miss  their  opportunity. 
There  is  no  more  serious  calamity  can  happen  to  any 
young  man  than  this  ;  and  many  a  life  has  been  wasted 
from  sheer  incapacity  of  fixing  on  what  to  do.  The 
will  gets  feeble  in  the  direction  of  self-denial  of  any 
kind,  and  talents  which  might  have  carried  their 


WHAT  TO  DO.  22 

possessor  on  to  social  consideration  and  usefulness, 
serve  merely  to  illumine  an  aimless  and  pitied  exist- 
ence. 

Young  men  who  are,  so  to  speak,  born  to  work — to 
whom  life  leaves  no  chance  of  idleness — are  perhaps 
the  most  fortunate.  They  take  up  the  yoke  in  their 
youth.  They  set  their  faces  to  duty  from  the  first ; 
and  if  life  should  prove  a  burden,  their  backs  become 
inured  to  it,  so  that  they  bear  the  weight  more  easily 
than  others  do  pleasures  and  vanities.  In  our  modern 
life,  this  is  a  largely-increasing  class.  As  the  relations 
of  society  become  more  complicated,  and  its  needs 
more  enlarged,  refined,  and  expensive,  the  duty  of 
work — of  every  man  to  his  own  work — becomes  more 
urgent  and  universal.  There  is  no  room  left  for  the 
idle.  There  are  certainly  no  rewards  to  them.  Society 
expects  every  man  to  do  his  duty ;  and  its  revenge  is 
very  swift  when  its  claims  are  neglected  or  its  expecta- 
tions disappointed. 

But  it  is  at  least  equally  important  for  young  men 
to  begin  life  with  an  intelligent  appreciation  of  work 
as  a  whole,  and  to  free  their  mind  from  the  prejudices 
which  have  so  long  prevailed  on  this  subject.  It  is 
singular  how  long  and  to  what  extent  these  prejudices 
have  prevailed.  Some  kinds  of  employment  have 
been  deemed  by  traditionary  opinion  to  be  honorable* 


23  SUCCESS  AND  HAPPINESS. 

and  such  as  gentlemen  may  engage  in;  others  have 
been  deemed  to  be  base,  and  unfit  for  gentlemen. 
Why  so  ?  It  would  puzzle  any  moralist  to  tell.  The 
profession  of  a  soldier  is  supposed  to  be  the  peculiar 
profession  of  a  gentleman ;  that  of  a  tailor  is  the 
opprobrium  of  boys  and  the  ridicule  of  small  wits. 
Is  there  not  something  untrue  as  well  as  unworthy  in 
the  implied  comparison  ? 

Let  young  men,  and  young  women  too,  of  whatever 
grade  of  life,  to  whom  there  may  seem  no  opening  in 
the  now  recognized  channels  of  professional  or  dom- 
estic activity  which  have  been  conventionally  associ- 
ated with  their  position,  make  to  themselves,  as  they 
may  be  able,  an  opening  in  the  ranks  of  commercial 
or  mechanical  employment.  If  society,  from  its  very 
increase  of  wealth  and  refinement,  and  the  expensive 
habits  which  necessarily  flow  from  this  increase,  creates 
obstacles  to  an  advantageous  settlement  in  life  after 
the  old  easy  manner  to  many  among  the  young,  it  cer- 
tainly ought  not  by  its  prejudices  to  stand  in  the  way 
of  their  launching  upon  the  great  world  of  life  in  their 
own  behalf,  and  attaining  to  what  industrial  independ- 
ence and  prosperity  they  can. 

It  is  at  least  a  right  and  wise  feeling  for  the  young 
to  cultivate — that  there  .is  no  form  of  horest  work 
which  is  really  beneath  them-  It  may  or  miy  not  be 


WHAT  AM  I  FIT  FOR?  24 

suitable  for  them.  It  may  or  may  not  be  the  species 
of  work  to  which  they  have  any  call.  But  let  them 
not  despise  it.  The  grocer  is  equally  honorable  with 
the  lawyer,  and  the  tailor  with  the  soldier,  as  we  have 
already  said.  It  is  just  as  really  becoming  a  gentle- 
man— if  we  could  purge  our  minds  of  traditional  delu- 
sions which  will  not  stand  a  moment's  impartial 
examination — to  serve  behind  a  counter  as  to  sit  at  a 
desk,  to  pursue  a  handicraft  as  to  indite  a  law  paper 
or  write  an  article.  The  only  work  that  is  more  honor- 
able,  is  work  of  higher  skill  and  more  meritorious  ex- 
cellence. It  is  the  qualities  of  the  workman,  and  not 
the  name  or  nature  of  the  work,  that  is  the  source  of 
all  real  honor  and  respect. — Tulloch. 


WHAT  AM  I  FIT  FOR  ? 

professions  to  which  life  invites  the  young 
are  of  very  various  kinds  ;  and  the  question  of 
choice  among  them,  as  it  is  very  important,  is 
sometimes  also  very  trying  and  difficult.  Rightly  viewed, 
it  ought  to  be  a  question  simply  of  capacity.  What 
am  I  fit  for?  But  it  is  more  easy  in  many  cases  to  ask 
this  question  than  to  answer  it.  It  will  certainly,  how- 
ever, facilitate  an  answer,  to  disembarrass  the  mind  of 


25  SUCCESS  AND  HAPPINESS. 

such  prejudices  as  we  have  been  speaking  of.  The 
field  of  choice  is  in  this  manner  left  comparatively 

• 

open.  Work  as  such,  if  it  be  honest  work,  is  esteemed 
not  for  the  adventitious  associations  that  may  surround 
it,  but  because  it  offers  an  appropriate  exercise  for 
such  powers  as  we  possess,  and  a  means  of  self-sup- 
port and  independence. 

There  are  those  to  whom  the  choice  of  a  profession 
presents  comparatively  few  difficulties.  They  are 
gifted  with  an  aptitude  for  some  particular  calling,  in 
such  a  degree  that  they  themselves  and  their  friends 
discern  their  bent  from  early  youth,  and  they  grow  up 
with  no  other  desire  than  to  betake  themselves  to 
what  is  acknowledged  to  be  their  destiny  in  the  world. 
Such  cases  are,  perhaps,  the  happiest  of  all ,  but  they 
are  far  from  numerous.  A  special  aptitude  is  seldom 
so  prononnced  in  youth.  Even  where  it  exists,  it  lies 
hid  many  a  time,  and  unknown  even  to  its  possessor, 
till  opportunity  calls  it  forth. 

There  are  other  cases  where  the  circumstances  of 
the  young  are  such  as  to  mark  out  for  them,  without 
deliberation  on  their  part,  the  profession  which  they 
are  to  follow.  Family  traditions  and  social  advan- 
tages may  so  clearly  point  their  way  in  life  that  they 
never  hesitate.  They  have  never  been  accustomed 
to  look  in  any  other  direction,  and  thev  take  to  their 


WHAT  AM  I  FIT  FOR?  26 

lot  with  a  happy  pride,  or  at  least  a  cheerful  con- 
tentment. 

But  the  great  majority  of  young  men  are  not  to  be 
found  in  either  of  these  envied  positions.  They  have 
their  way  to  make  in  the  world;  and  they  are  neither 
so  specially  gifted,  on  the  one  hand,  nor  so  fortunately 
circumstanced,  on  the  other  eand,  as  to  see  clearly 
and  without  deliberation  the  direction  in  which  they 
should  turn,  and  the  fitting  work  which  they  should 
give  themselves. 

Many  things  must  be  considered  by  them  and  for 
them  in  such  a  case  which  we  are  not  called  upon  to 
discuss  here — which,  indeed,  we  cannot  discuss  here. 
The  accidents  of  position,  with  which,  after  all,  the 
balance  of  their  lot  may  lie,  vary  so  indefinitely  that 
it  would  be  impossible  to  indicate  any  clear  line  of 
direction  for  them.  But  without  venturing  to  do  this, 
it  may  be  useful  to  fix  the  thoughts  of  the  young  upon 
certain  general  features  of  the  various  classes  of  pro- 
fessions that  lie  before  them  in  the  world  open  for  their 
ambition  and  attainment. 

Professions  may  be  generally  classified  as  intellec- 
tual, commercial,  and  mechanical,  excluding  those 
which  belong  to  the  public  service,  such  as  the  army 
and  navy,  and  the  civil  offices  under  Government. 
These  form  by  themselves  a  class  of  professions  of 


27  SUCCESS  AND  HAPPINESS. 

great  importance.  But  the  aptitudes  which  they 
require  are,  upon  the  whole,  less  determined,  and 
therefore  less  easily  characterized  than  those  which 
the  ordinary  professions  demand.  A  merchant  or  a 
shoemaker,  or  even  a  clergyman,  may  become,  should 
circumstances  summon  him,  a  soldier  or  a  diplomatist* 
but  neither  the  soldier  nor  diplomatist  could  so  easily 
assume  the  functions  of  the  merchant,  or  shoemaker, 
or  clergyman. 

Neither  must  it  be  supposed,  in  making  this  classifi- 
cation, that  the  names  we  have  used  have  anything 
more  than  a  general  application  warranted  by  the  talk 
of  society,  and,  therefore,  sufficiently  intelligible. 
There  are  certain  callings  which  society  has  agreed  to 
consider  more  intellectual,  more  of  the  character  of 
professions,  and  others  which  it  regards  as  more  pecu- 
liarly of  a  business  or  commercial  character,  and 
others  again  that  are  more  of  the  nature  of  a  craft,  or 
handiwork.  In  point  of  fact,  all  are  intellectual  in  the 
sense  of  calling  into  exercise  the  intellectual  powers ; 
and  it  may  so  happen  that  more  mental  capacity  may 
be  shown  in  conducting  affairs  of  business,  or  in  in- 
venting or  applying  some  new  mechanical  agency, 
than  in  the  discharge  of  the  duties  of  the  intellectual 
professions,  commonly  so  c.illed.  This  does  not,  how- 
ever, affect  the  propriety  of  the  classification.  The 


WHAT  AM  I  FIT  FOR  ?  28 

subject-matter  of  the  callings  is  nevertheless  distinct. 
Those  of  the  first  class  deal  more  largely  and  directly 
with  the  intellectual  nature  of  man ;  they  involve  a 
more  special  mental  training;  while  those  of  the 
other  two  classes  deal  more  with  the  outward  indus- 
trial activities,  and  are  presumed  not  to  require  so  pro- 
longed or  careful  an  intellectual  education. 

This  obvious  distinction  serves  to  mark  generally 
the  qualities  that  are  demanded  in  these  respective 
orders  of  professions.  Whether  a  man  is  to  be  a 
clergyman,  lawyer  (using  the  word  in  its  largest  sense 
as  including  the  profession  of  the  bar),  physician — or 
a  merchant,  an  engineer,  or  an  ordinary  tradesman, 
should  depend,  in  a  general  way  at  least,  on  the  com- 
parative vivacity  and  force  of  his  intellectual  powers. 
A  youth  who  has  but  little  intellectual  interest,  who 
cares  but  little  or  not  at  all  for  literary  study  and  the 
delights  of  scholastic  ambition,  is  shut  out  by  nature 
from  approach  to  the  former  professions.  They  are 
not  his  calling  in  any  high  or  even  useful  sense.  He 
may  approach  them  and  enter  upon  them,  and  a  cer- 
tain worldly  success  may  even  await  him  in  them 
under  the  favoring  gale  of  circumstances ;  but  accord- 
ing to  any  real  standard  of  excellence  or  utility, 
he  has  missed  his  proper  course  in  life.  He  may 
have  found  what  he  wanted,  but  others  will  often 


29  SUCCESS  AND  HAPPINESS. 

have  failed  to  find  in  him  what  they  were  entitled  to 
expect. 

The  same  is  no  less  true  of  the  Bar  or  legal  profes- 
sion in  all  its  bearings  and  of  the  profession  of  Medi- 
cine. Each  of  these  professions  demand  a  vivacious 
intellectual  interest,  powers  of  real  and  independent 
thought.  Neither  their  principles  can  be  grasped,  nor 
their  highest  applications  to  the  well-being  of  society 
appreciated,  without  these.  All,  it  may  be  said,  are 
not  required  to  rise  so  high  ;  there  must  be  common  as 
well  as  higher  workmen  in  all  professions — "  hewers  of 
wood  and  drawers  of  water/'  as  well  as  men  of  wide 
and  commanding  intelligence.  And  this  is  true.  Only 
the  question  remains,  whether  those  who  never  rise 
above  the  mechanical  routine  of  the  higher  profes- 
sions would  not  have  been  really  more  happy  and  use- 
ful in  some  lower  department  of  industry.  In  con- 
templating a  profession  none  should  willingly  set 
before  them  the  prospect  of  being  nothing  but  a 
Gideonite  in  it.  And  yet  this  must  be  the  fate,  and 
deserves  to  be  the  fate,  of  all  who  rush  towards  work 
for  which  nature  has  given  them  no  special  capacity. 
By  aiming  beyond  their  power,  they  are  likely  to  fall 
short  of  the  competency  and  success  that,  in  some 
more  congenial  form  of  work,  might  have  awaited 

I 

them. 


WHAT  AM  I  FIT  FOR?  30 

It  seems  so  far,  therefore,  that  there  is  a  sufficiently 
plain  line  of  guidance  as  to  the  choice  of  a  profes- 
sion. If  your  interest  is  not  in  study,  if  your  bent  is 
not  intellectual,  then  there  is  one  large  class  of  pro- 
fessions for  which  you  are  not  destined.  You  may  be 
intellectual,  highly  so,  and  yet  you  may  not  choose 
any  of  these  professions;  circumstances  may  render 
this  inadvantageous  ;  or,  while  your  intellectual  life  is 
inquisitive  and  powerful,  your  active  ambition  may  be 
no  less  powerful,  and  may  carry  you  away.  But  at 
any  rate,  if  you  have  not  a  lively  interest  in  intellec- 
tual pursuits,  neither  the  Church,  nor  the  Bar,  nor 
Medicine  is  your  appropriate  professional  sphere. 
You  can  never  be  in  any  of  these  a  "  workman  need- 
ing not  to  be  ashamed." 

Nor  let  it  be  supposed  that  there  is  anything  derog- 
atory in  this  lack  of  intellectual  interest  in  the  sense 
in  which  we  now  mean.  It  by  no  means  implies  intel- 
lectual ignorance,  or  indisposition  to  knowledge,  but 
simply  no  predominating  desire  for  study  as  a  habit 
and  mode  of  life.  It  is  not  the  book  in  the  quiet 
room  that  interests  you  so  much  as  the  busy  ways  of 
the  world,  the  commercial  intercourse  of  men,  or,  it 
may  be,  some  mechanical  craft  to  which  your  thoughts 
are  ever  turning,  and  your  hands  inclining.  How  con- 
stantly are  such  differences  observed  in  boys !  Schol- 


31  SUCCESS  AND  HAPPINESS. 

astic  tastes  weary  and  stupefy  some  who  are  all  alert 
as  soon  as  the  unwelcome  pressure  is  lifted  from  their 
minds,  and  their  energies  are  allowed  their  natural 
play.  Their  aptitude  is  not  for  classic  lore ;  their 
delight  is  not  in  lore  at  all,  but  in  active  work  of  some 
kind,  the  interest  of  which  is  of  an  every-day  practical 
character. 

The  simple  rule  in  such  a  case  is — follow  your  bent. 
It  may  not  show  itself  so  particularly  as  in  some  cases 
we  have  already  supposed;  but,  at  least,  it  is  so  far 
manifest.  It  is  clearly  not  in  certain  directions,  and 
so  far,  therefore,  the  field  of  your  choice  is  limited. 
Probe  a  little  deeper  and  more  carefully,  and  it  may 
come  more  plainly  into  view.  And,  remember,  one 
bent  is  really  as  honorable  as  another,  although  it  may 
not  aim  so  high.  The  young  merchant  is  just  as 
clearly  "called"  as  the  young  clergyman,  if  he  feel 
the  faculty  of  business  stirring  in  him.  And  who  seem 
often  more  called  than  great  mechanicians — men  often 
with  little  general  knowledge,  and  little  intellectual 
taste  and  sympathy,  but  who  have  a  creative  faculty  of 
designs,  as  determinate  in  its  way  as  the  art  of  the 
painter  or  the  poet  ? 

These  are  special  cases.  But  in  ordinary  youth 
something  of  the  same  kind  may  be  observed.  There 
are  boys  designed  by  nature  for  commercial  life ;  there 


WHAT  AM  I  FIT  FOR  ?  32 

are  others  plainly  designed  for  mechanical  employ- 
ment. Nature  has  stamped  their  destiny  upon  them 
in  signs  which  show  themselves,  if  sought  after.  Let 
not  them  and  their  friends  try  to  countersign  the  seal 
of  nature.  This  is  always  a  grievous  harm  ;  a  harm  to 
the  individual,  and  a  possible  harm  to  the  world. 

Even  where  Nature's  indications  may  be  obscure, 
there  seems  no  other  rule  than  to  trace  and  follow 
them.  Some  boys  of  healthy  and  well-developed 
faculties,  or,  still  more  likely,  of  weak  and  unemphatic 
qualities,  may  seem  to  have  no  particular  destiny  in 
the  world.  Yet  they  have.  Their  place  is  prepared 
for  them,  if  they  can  find  it.  And  their  only  hope  of 
doing  so  is  to  observe  nature,  and  follow  it.  She  may 
not  have  written  her  lines  broadly  on  their  souls,  but 
she  has  put  tracings  there,  which  may  be  found  and 
followed.  There  are  a  few  who  may  seem  to  find 
their  position  in  the  world  more  by  accident  than  any- 
thing else.  Circumstances  determine  their  lot,  and 
without  any  thought  of  theirs,  they  seem  to  get  into 
the  place  most  fitting  them.  Yet  even  in  such  cases, 
circumstances  are  often  less  powerful  than  are  sup- 
posed, or,  at  least,  they  have  wrought  with  nature,  and 
this  unconscious  conformity  has  proved  the  strongest 
influence  in  fashioning  such  lives  to  prosperity  and 
success. 


33  SUCCESS  AND  HAPPINESS. 

For  strong  natures  there  is  strong  work ;  for  weak 
and  less  certain  natures,  there  is  also  work,  but  not  of 
the  same  kind.  The  back  is  fitted  to  the  burden  in  a 
higher  sense  than  is  sometimes  meant,  if  only  the 
back  do  not  overtask  its  powers,  and  assume  to  carry 
weight  that  was  never  meant  for  it. — Tulloch. 


RESISTANCE  TO  TEMPTATION. 

|HE  young  man,  as  he  passes  through  life,  ad- 
vances through  a  long  line  of  tempters 
ranged  on  either  side  of  him;  and  the  in- 
evitable effect  of  yielding  is  degradation  in  a  greater 
or  less  degree.  Contact  with  them  tends  insensibly 
to  draw  away  from  him  some  portion  of  the  divine 

electric  element   with   which    his    nature  is  charged  • 

} 

and  his  only  mode  of  resisting  them  is  to  utter  and 
to  act  out  his  '"  No  "  manfully  and  resolutely.  He 
must  decide  at  once,  not  waiting  to  deliberate  and 
balance  reasons ;  for  the  youth,  like  "  the  woman  who 
deliberates,  is  lost. "  Many  deliberate,  without  decid- 
ing, but  "  not  to  resolve,  is  to  resolve."  A  perfect 
knowledge  of  man  is  in  the  prayer,  "  Lead  us  not  into 
temptation."  But  temptation  will  come  to  try  the 
young  man's  strength ;  and  once  yielded  to,  the  power 


RESISTANCE  TO  TEMPTATION.  34 

to  resist  grows  weaker  and  weaker.  Yield  once,  and  a 
portion  of  virtue  has  gone.  Resist  manfully,  and  the 
first  decision  will  give  strength  for  life;  repeated,  it  will 
become  a  habit.  It  is  in  the  outworks  of  the  habits 
formed  in  early  life  that  the  real  strength  of  the  defence 
must  lie;  for  it  has  been  wisely  ordained,  that  the 
machinery  of  moral  existence  should  be  carried  on 
principally  through  the  medium  of  the  habits,  so  as  to 
save  the  wear  and  tear  of  the  great  principles  within. 

• 

It  is  good  habits  which  insinuate  themselves  into  the 
thousand  inconsiderable  acts  of  life,  that  really  con- 
stitute by  far  the  greater  part  of  man's  moral  conduct. 
Hugh  Miller  has  told  how,  by  an  act  of  youthful 
decision,  he  saved  himself  from  one  of  the  strong 
temptations  so  peculiar  to  a  life  of  toil.  When  em- 
ployed as  a  mason,  it  was  usual  for  his  fellow-work- 
men to  have  an  occasional  treat  of  drink,  and  one  day 
two  glasses  of  whiskey  fell  to  his  share,  which  he 
swallowed.  When  he  reached  home,  he  found,  on 
opening  his  favorite  book — "  Bacon's  Essays  " — that 
the  letters  danced  before  his  eyes,  and  that  he  could 
no  longer  master  the  sense.  "The  condition,"  he  says, 
"into  which  I  had  brought  myself  was,  I  felt,  one  of 
degradation.  I  had  sunk,  by  my  own  act,  for  the  time, 
to  a  lower  level  of  intelligence  than  that  on  which  it 
was  my  privilege  to  be  placed;  and  though  the  state 


35  SUCCESS  AND  HAPPINESS. 

could  have  been  no  very  favorable  one  for  forming  a 
resolution,  I  in  that  hour  determined  that  I  should 
never  again  sacrifice  my  capacity  of  intellectual  en- 
joyment to  a  drinking  usage ;  and  with  God's  help,  I 
was  enabled  to  hold  by  the  determination."  It  is  such 
decisions  as  this  that  often  form  the  turning-points  in 
a  man's  life,  and  furnish  the  foundation  of  his  future 
character.  And  this  rock,  on  which  Hugh  Miller 
might  have  been  wrecked,  if  he  had  not  at  the  right 
moment  put  forth  his  moral  strength  to  strike  away 
from  it,  is  one  that  youth  and  manhood  alike  need  to 
be  constantly  on  their  guard  against.  It  is  about  one 
of  the  worst  and  most  deadly,  as  well  as  extravagant, 
temptations  which  lie  in  the  way  of  youth.  Sir  Walter 
Scott  used  to  say  "  that  of  all  vices,  drinking  is  the 
most  incompatible  with  greatness."  Not  only  so,  but 
it  is  incompatible  with  economy,  decency,  health,  and 
honest  living.  When  a  youth  cannot  restrain,  he  must 
abstain.  Dr.  Johnson's  case  is  the  case  of  many.  He 
•aid,  referring  to  his  own  habits,  "  Sir,  I  can  abstain; 
but  I  can't  be  moderate." — Smiles. 

Here  are  Dr.  Thomas  Guthrie's  excellent  reasons 
for  becoming  a  total  abstainer:  "  I  have  tried  both 
ways;  I  speak  from  experience.  I  am  in  good  spirits 
because  I  take  no  spirits;  I  am  hale  because  I  use  no 


RESISTANCE  TO  TEMPTATION.  36 

ale;  I  take  no  antidote  in  the  form  of  drugs  because  I 
take  no  poison  in  the  form  of  drinks.  Thus,  though 
in  the  first  instance  I  sought  only  the  public  good,  I 
have  found  my  own  also  since  I  became  a  total 
abstainer.  I  have  these  four  reasons  for  continuing  to 
be  one:  first,  mv  health  is  stronger;  second,  my  head 
is  clearer;  third,  my  heart  is  lighter;  fourth,  my  purse 
is  heavier." 

In  the  course  of  a  recent  address  at  Exeter  Hall, 
London,  Mr.  John  B.  Gough  said:  "  I  knew  a  man  in 
America  who  undertook  to  give  up  the  habit  of  chew- 
ing tobacco.  He  put  his  hand  in  his  pocket,  took  out 
his  plug  of  tobacco  and  threw  it  away,  saying  as  he 
did  so,  '  That's  the  end  of  it.'  But  it  was  the  begin- 
ning of  it  Oh,  how  he  did  want  it!  He  would  lick 
his  lips,  he  would  chew  camomile,  he  would  chew 
toothpicks,  quills — anything  to  keep  the  jaws  going. 
No  use;  he  suffered  intensely.  After  enduring  the 
craving  for  thirty-six  or  forty-eight  hours,  he  made  up 
his  mind,  '  Now,  it's  no  use  suffering  for  a  bit  of 
tobacco;  I  will  go  and  get  some.'  So  he  went  and 
purchased  another  plug,  and  put  it  in  his  pocket. 
*  Now,'  he  said,  '  when  I  want  it  awfully,  I'll  take  some.' 
Well,  he  did  want  it  awfully;  and  he  said  he  believed 
that  it  was  God's  good  Spirit  that  was  striving  with 
3 


37  SUCCESS  AND  HAPPINESS. 

him  as  he  held  the  tobacco  in  his  hand.  Looking  at 
it,  he  said,  '  I  love  you.  But  are  you  my  master,  or  am 
I  yours  ?  You  are  a  weed,  and  I  am  a  man.  You  are 
a  thing,  and  I  am  a  man.  I'll  master  you,  if  I  die  for 
it'  Every  time  he  wanted  it  he  would  take  it  out  and 
talk  to  it.  It  was  six  or  eight  weeks  before  he  could 
throw  it  away  and  feel  easy  ;  but  he  said  the  glory  of 
the  victory  repaid  for  all  his  struggle." 


A  HIGH  STANDARD  NECESSARY. 

UT  to  wrestle  vigorously  and  successfully  with 
any  vicious  habit,  we  must  not  merely  be 
satisfied  with  contending  on  the  low  ground 
of  worldly  prudence,  though  that  is  of  use,  but  take 
stand  upon  a  higher  moral  elevation.  Mechanical  aids, 
such  as  pledges,  may  be  of  service  to  some,  but  the 
great  thing  is  to  set  up  a  high  standard  of  thinking 
and  acting,  and  endeavor  to  strengthen  and  purify  the 
principles,  as  well  as  to  reform  the  habits.  For  this 
purpose  a  youth  must  study  himself,  watch  his  steps, 
and  compare  his  thoughts  and  acts  with  his  rule. 
The  more  knowledge  of  himself  he  gains,  the  more 
humble  will  he  be,  and  perhaps  the  less  confident  in 
his  own  strength.  But  the  discipline  will  be  found 


ALL  HONEST  INDUSTRY  HONORABLE.  38 

most  valuable  which  is  acquired  by  resisting  small 
present  gratifications  to  secure  a  prospective  greater 
and  higher  one.  It  is  the  noblest  work  in  self-educa- 
tion— for 

"  Real  glory 

Springs  from  the  silent  conquest  of  ourselves, 
And  without  that  the  conqueror  is  nought 

But  the  first  slave." 

— Smiles. 


ALL  HONEST  INDUSTRY  HONORABLE. 

'HERE  is  no  discredit,  but  honor,  in  every  right 
walk  of  industry,  whether  it  be  in  tilling  the 
ground,  making  tools,  weaving  fabrics,  or  sell- 
ing the  products  behind  a  counter.  A  youth  may 
handle  a  yard-stick,  or  measure  a  piece  of  ribbon  ; 
and  there  will  be  no  discredit  in  doing  so,  unless  he 
allows  his  mind  to  have  no  higher  range  than  the 
stick  and  ribbon  ;  to  be  as  short  as  the  one,  and  as 
narrow  as  the  other.  "  Let  not  those  blush  who  have" 
said  Fuller,  "  but  those  who  have  not  a  lawful  calling." 
And  Bishop  Hall  said,  "  Sweet  is  the  destiny  of  all 
trades,  whether  of  the  brow  or  of  the  mind."  Men 
who  have  raised  themselves  from  a  humble  calling, 
need  not  be  ashamed,  but  rather  ought  to  be  proud 
of  the  difficulties  they  have  surmounted.  The  laborer 


39  SUCCESS  AND  HAPPINESS. 

on  his  feet  stands  higher  than  the  nobleman  on  his 
knees.  One  of  our  Presidents,  when  asked  what  was 
his  coat-of-arms,  remembering  that  he  had  been  a 
hewer  of  wood  in  his  youth,  replied,  "  A  pair  of  shirt- 
sleeves." Lord  Tenterden  was  proud  to  point  out  to 
his  son  the  shop  in  which  his  father  had  shaved  for  a 
penny.  A  French  doctor  once  taunted  Flechier, 
Bishop  of  Nismes,  who  had  been  a  tallow-chandler  in 
his  youth,  with  the  meanness  of  his  origin,  to  which 
Flechier  replied,  "  If  you  had  been  born  in  the  same 
condition  that  I  was,  you  would  still  have  been  but  a 
maker  of  candles."  Some  small  spirits,  ashamed  of 
their  origin,  are  always  striving  to  conceal  it,  and  by 
the  very  efforts  they  make  to  do  so,  betray  themselves; 
like  that  worthy  but  stupid  Yorkshire  dyer,  who,  hav- 
ing gained  his  money  by  honest  chimney-sweeping, 
and  feeling  ashamed  of  chimneys,  built  his  house 
without  one,  sending  all  his  smoke  into  the  shaft  of  his 
dye-works. — Smiles. 


MONEY-MAKING. 

"ANY  popular  books  have  been  written  for  the 
purpose  of  communicating  to  the  public  the 
grand  secret  of  making  money.     But  there 
is  no  secret  whatever  about  it,  as  the  proverbs  of  every 


MONEY-MAKING.  40 

nation  abundantly  testify.     "  Many  a  little  makes  a 
meikle." 

"  Take  care  of  the  pennies  and  the  pounds  will  take 
care  of  themselves." 

"  A  penny  saved  is  a  penny  gained.'* 
"  Diligence  is  the  mother  of  good-luck." 
"  No  pains  no  gains." 
"  No  sweat  no  sweet." 
"  Sloth,  the  key  of  poverty." 
"  Work,  and  thou  shalt  have." 
"  He  who  will  not  work,  neither  shall  he  eat." 
"  The  world  is  his,  who  has  patience  and  industry." 
"  It  is  too  late  to  spare  when  all  is  spent." 
"Better  go  to  bed  supperless  than  rise  in  debt" 
"  The  morning  hour  has  gold  in  its  mouth." 
"  Credit  keeps  the  crown  of  the  causeway." 
Such  are  specimens  of  the  proverbial  philosophy, 
embodying  the  hoarded  experience  of  many  genera- 
tions, as  to  the  best  means  of  thriving  in  the  world. 
They  were  current   in  people's   mouths  long  before 
books  were  invented;  and,  like  other  popular  proverbs, 
they  were  the  first  codes  of  popular  morals.     More- 
over, they  have  stood  the  test  of  time,  and  the  experi- 
ence of  every  day  still  bears  witness  to  their  accuracy, 
force  and  soundness. 

The  proverbs  of  Solomon  are  full  of  wisdom,  as  to 


41  SUCCESS  AND  HAPPINESS, 

the  force  of  industry,  and  the  use  and  abuse  of  money: 
"  He  that  is  slothful  in  work  is  brother  to  him  that  is  a 
great  waster."  "  Go  to  the  ant,  thou  sluggard;  con- 
sider her  ways  and  be  wise."  Poverty,  he  says,  shall 
come  upon  the  idler,  "  as  one  that  traveleth,  and  want 
as  an  armed  man;  "  but  of  the  industrious  and  upright, 
"  The  hand  of  the  diligent  maketh  rich."  "  He  who 
will  not  plough  by  reason  of  the  cold,  shall  beg  in 
harvest,  and  have  nothing."  "  The  drunkard  and  the 
glutton  shall  come  to  poverty;  and  drowsiness  shall 
clothe  a  man  with  rags."  "  The  slothful  man  says 
there  is  a  lion  in  the  streets."  "  Seest  thou  a  man 
diligent  in  hfc  business  ?  he  shall  stand  before  kings." 
But  above  all  "  It  is  better  to  get  wisdom  than  gold; 
for  wisdom  is  better  than  rubies,  and  all  the  things 
that  may  be  desired  are  not  to  be  compared  to  it." 

Simple  industry  and  thrift  will  go  far  towards  making 
any  person  of  ordinary  working  faculty  comparatively 
independent  in  his  means.  Even  a  working  man  may 
be  so,  provided  he  will  carefully  husband  his  resources 
and  watch  the  little  outlets  of  useless  expenditure. 

Nothing,  however,  is  more  common  than  energy  in 
money-making,  quite  independent  of  any  higher  object 
than  its  accumulation.  A  man  who  devotes  himself  to 
this  pursuit,  body  and  soul,  can  scarcely  fail  to  become 
rich.  Very  little  brains  will  do;  spend  less  than  you 


MONEY-MAKING.  42 

earn;  add  dollar  to  dollar;  scrape  and  save;  and  the 
pile  of  gold  will  gradually  rise.  John  Foster  quoted  a 
striking  illustration  of  what  this  kind  of  determination 
will  do  in  money-making.  A  young  man  who  ran 
through  his  patrimony,  spending  it  in  profligacy,  was 
at  length  reduced  to  utter  want  and  despair.  He 
rushed  out  of  his  house,  intending  to  put  an  end  to  his 
life,  and  stopped  on  arriving  at  an  eminence  overlook- 
ing what  were  once  his  estates.  He  sat  down,  rumin- 
ated for  a  time,  and  rose  with  the  determination 
that  he  would  recover  them.  He  returned  to  the 
streets,  saw  a  load  of  coals  which  had  been  shot  out 
of  a  cart  on  to  the.  pavement  before  a  house,  offered 
to  carry  them  in,  and  was  employed.  He  thus  earned 
a  few  pence,  requested  some  meat  and  drink  as  a 
gratuity,  which  was  given  him,  and  the  pennies  were 
laid  by.  Pursuing  this  menial  labor,  he  earned  and 
saved  more  pennies;  accumulated  sufficient  to  enable 
him  to  purchase  some  cattle,  the  value  of  which  he 
understood,  and  these  he  sold  to  advantage.  He  now 
pursued  money  with  a  step  as  steady  as  time,  and  an 
appetite  as  keen  as  death ;  advancing  by  degrees  into 
larger  and  larger  transactions,  until  at  length  he 
became  rich.  The  result  was,  that  he  more  than  re- 
covered his  possessions,  and  died  an  inveterate  miser. 
When  he  was  buried,  mere  earth  went  to  earth.  With 


43  SUCCESS  AND  HAPPINESS. 

a  nobler  spirit,  the  same  determination  might  have 
enabled  such  a  man  to  be  a  benefactor  to  others  as 
well  as  to  himself.  But  the  life  and  its  end  in  this 
case  were  alike  sordid. — Smiles. 


THE  LOVE  OF  MONEY. 

saving  of  money  for  the  mere  sake  of  it,  is 
but  a  mean  thing,  even  though  earned  by 
honest  work ;  but  where  earned  by  dice- 
throwing,  or  speculation,  and  without  labor,  it  is  still 
worse.  To  provide  for  others,  and  for  our  own  com- 
fort and  independence  in  old  age,  is  honorable,  and 
greatly  to  be  commended  ;  but  to  hoard  for  mere 
wealth's  sake  is  the  characteristic  of  the  narrow-souled 
and  the  miserly.  It  is  against  the  growth  of  this  habit 
of  inordinate  saving,  that  the  wise  man  needs  most 
carefully  to  guard  himself ;  else,  what  in  youth  was 
simple  economy,  may  in  old  age  grow  into  avarice, 
and  what  was  a  duty  in  the  one,  may  become  a  vice  in 
the  other.  It  is  the  love  of  money — not  money  itself 
— which  is  the  "root  of  evil " — a  love  which  narrows 
and  contracts  the  soul,  and  closes  it  against  generous 
life  and  action.  Hence,  Sir  Walter  Scott  makes  one 
of  his  characters  declare  that  "  the  penny  siller  s4ew 


RICHES  NO  PROOF  OF  WORTH.  44 

mair  souls  than  the  naked  sword  slew  bodies."  It  is 
one  of  the  defects  of  business  too  exclusively  followed, 
that  it  insensibly  tends  to  a  mechanism  of  character. 
The  business  man  gets  into  a  rut,  and  often  does  not 
look  beyond  it.  If  he  lives  for  himself  only,  he 
becomes  apt  to  regard  other  human  beings  only  in  so 
far  as  they  minister  to  his  ends.  Take  a  leaf  from 
such  men's  ledger,  and  you  have  their  life.  It  is  said 
of  one  of  our  most  eminent  modern  men  of  business — 
withal  a  scrupulously  honorable  man — who  spent  his 
life  mainly  in  money-making,  and  succeeded,  that 
when  upon  his  death-bed,  he  turned  to  his  favorite 
daughter,  and  said  solemnly  to  her,  "  Hasn't  it  been  a 

mistake, ?  "     He  had  been  thinking  of  the  good 

thich  other  men  of  his  race  had  done,  and  which  he 
might  have  done,  had  he  not  unhappily  found  exclu- 
sive money-making  to  be  a  mistake  when  it  was  too 
late  to  remedy  it. — Smiles. 


RICHES  NO  PROOF  OF  WORTH. 

"ORLDLY  success,  measured  by  the  accu- 
mulation  of  money,  is  no  doubt  a  very 
dazzling  thing  ;  and  all  men  are  naturally 
more  or  less  the  admirers  of  worldly  success.     But 


45  SUCCESS  AND  HAPPINESS. 

though  men  of  persevering,  sharp,  dexterous,  and 
unscrupulous  habits,  ever  on  the  watch  to  push  oppor- 
tunities, may  and  do  "  get  on  "  in  the  world ;  yet  it  is 
quite  possible  that  they  may  not  possess  the  slightest 
elevation  of  character,  nor  a  particle  of  real  greatness. 
He  who  recognizes  no  higher  logic  than  that  of  the 
dollar,  may  become  a  very  rich  man,  and  yet  remain 
all  the  while  an  exceedingly  poor  creature.  For  riches 
are  no  proof  whatever  of  moral  worth  ;  and  their  glit- 
ter often  serves  only  to  draw  attention  to  the  worth- 
lessness  of  their  possessor,  as  the  glowworm's  light 
reveals  the  grub.  "  In  morals,"  says  Mr.  Lynch,  "a 
penny  may  outweigh  a  pound — may  represent  more 
industry  and  character.  The  money  that  witnesses  of 
patient,  inventive  years  of  fair  dealing  and  brave  deal- 
ing, proves  '  worth '  indeed.  But  neither  a  man's 
means  nor  his  worth  are' measurable  by  his  money.  If 
he  has  a  fat  purse  and  a  lean  heart,  a  broad  estate  and 
a  narrow  understanding,  what  will  his  '  means  '  do  for 
him — what  will  his  '  worth  '  gain  him  ?  "  Let  a  man 
be  what  he  will,  it  is  the  mind  and  heart  that  make 
a  man  poor  or  rich,  miserable  or  happy;  for  these  are 
always  stronger  than  fortune. 

The  manner  in  which  so  many  allow  themselves  to 
be  sacrificed  to  their  love  of  wealth,  reminds  one  of 
the  cupidity  of  the  monkey — that  caricature  of  our 


EVILS  OF  SELF-INDULGENCE.  46 

species.  In  Algiers,  the  Kabyle  peasant  attaches  a 
gourd,  well  fixed,  to  a  tree,  and  places  within  it  some 
rice.  The  gourd  has  an  opening  merely  sufficient  to 
admit  the  monkey's  paw.  The  creature  comes  to  the 
tree  by  night,  inserts  his  paw,  and  grasps  his  booty. 
He  tries  to  draw  it  back,  but  it  is  clenched,  and  he 
has  not  the  wisdom  to  unclench  it.  So  there  he  stands 
till  morning,  when  he  is  caught,  looking  as  foolish  as 
may  be,  though  with  the  prize  in  his  grasp.  The 
moral  of  this  little  story  is  capable  of  a  very  exten- 
sive application  in  life. — Smiles. 


EVILS  OF  SELF-INDULGENCE. 

j|TF,  like  Cleopatra,  you  had  dissolved  a  pearl — if 
you  had  put  together  the  income  of  years — all 
that  has  been  spent  on  self-indulgence — perhaps 
in  enticing  others  into  sin — could  you  have  put  it  all 
together,  and,  like  the  queenly  jewel,  dissipated  it  in 
dust  and  air,  we  might  have  been  sorry  for  the  idle 
sacrifice,  but  the  wasted  money  would  not  have  wasted 
you.  Cleopatra  had  another  pearl,  the  gift  of  peerless 
beauty.  That  gift  was  perverted,  and  it  hatched  a 
serpent;  it  came  back  into  her  bosom — the  asp  which 
stung  her.  So  with  the  possessions  of  the  prodigal. 


47  SUCCESS  AND  HAPPINESS. 

Talents  laid  up  in  a  napkin,  pearls  melted  in  vinegar, 
will  benefit  no  one;  but  rank,  fortune,  health,  high 
spirits,  laid  out  in  the  service  of  sin,  are  scorpion-eggs, 
and  fostered  and  fully  grown,  the  forthcoming  furies 
will  seize  on  the  conscience,  and  with  stings  of  fire 
will  torment  it  evermore. — Hamilton. 


POWER  OF  MONEY  OVER-ESTIMATED. 


power  of  money  is,  on  the  whole,  over- 
estimated. The  greatest  things  which  have 
been  done  for  the  world  have  not  been  accom- 
plished by  rich  men,  or  by  subscription  lists,  but  by 
men  generally  of  small  pecuniary  means.  Christian- 
ity was  propagated  over  half  the  world  by  men  of  the 
poorest  class ;  and  the  greatest  thinkers,  discoverers, 
inventors,  and  artists,  have  been  men  of  moderate 
wealth,  many  of  them  little  raised  above  the  condition 
of  manual  laborers  in  point  of  worldly  circumstances. 
And  it  will  always  be  so.  Riches  are  oftener  an  im- 
pediment than  a  stimulus  to  action  ;  and  in  many 
cases  they  are  quite  as  much  a  misfortune  as  a  bless- 
ing. The  youth  who  inherits  wealth,  is  apt  to  have 
life  made  too  easy  for  him,  and  he  soon  grows  sated 
with  it,  because  he  has  nothing  left  to  desire.  Having 


FAILURE  OF  RICH  MEN'S  SONS.  48 

no  special  object  to  struggle  for,  he  finds  time  hang 
heavy  on  his  hands ;  he  remains  morally  and  spirit- 
ually asleep ;  and  his  position  in  society  is  often  no 
higher  than  that  of  a  polypus  over  which  the  tide 

floats. 

"  His  only  labor  is  to*  kill  the  time, 

And  labor  dire  it  is,  and  weary  woe. * 

Yet  the  rich  man,  inspired  by  a  right  spirit,  will 
spurn  idleness  as  unmanly ;  and  if  he  bethink  him  of 
the  responsibilities  which  attach  to  the  possession  of 
wealth  and  property,  he  will  feel  even  a  higher  call  to 
work  than  men  of  poorer  lot.  This,  however,  must 
be  admitted  to  be  by  no  means  the  practice  of  life. 
The  golden  mean  of  Agur's  perfect  prayer,  is,  perhaps, 
the  best  lot  of  all,  if  we  did  but  know  it :  "  Give  me 
neither  poverty  nor  riches ;  feed  me  with  food  con- 
venient for  me." — Smiles. 


FAILURE  OF  RICH  MEN'S  SONS. 

'HE  president  of  one  of  our  largest  banks  said, 
a  short  time  ago,  that  a  rich  man's  son  h?d 
just  left  his  place,  and  he  was  the  last  m?n  +* 
the  kind  he  should  ever  employ.  The  man  was  faith- 
ful, honest,  and  fulfilled  intelligently  a^4  w*vll  a\\ 


49  SUCCESS  AND  HAPPINESS. 

duties  required  of  him;  but  just  as  he  had  become 
accustomed  to  his  work,  he  found  out  that  it  was  too 
confining,  and  a  raw  clerk  had  to  be  put  in  his  place. 
A  bad  look-out  this  for  rich  young  men;  but  it  is  the 
old  story  repeated  for  the  thousandth  time.  If  rich 
men's  sons  will  not  endure  the  drudgery  by  which 
nearly  all  their  fathers  secured  money  and  position, 
they  must  take  a  secondary  place  in  the  next  genera- 
tion; and  oftener  they  drop  out  of  sight  amid  the  idle, 
worthless  herd,  if,  indeed  they  escape  an  association 
with  loafers  and  criminals. 

• 

Nearly  every  man  in  any  leading  position  in  the 
community  began  life  poor.  Let  the  sons  of  our  rich 
men  take  warning  and  go  to  work  honestly  and  faith- 
fully every  day,  if  they  hope  to  fill  the  positions  hon- 
orably held  by  their  fathers. 


TRUE  RESPECTABILITY. 

'ESPECTABILITY,  in  its  best  sense,  is  good. 
The  respectable  man  is  one  worthy  of  regard, 
literally  worth  turning  back  to  look  at.  But 
the  respectability  that  consists  in  merely  keeping  up 
appearances  is  not  worth  looking  at  in  any  sense.  Far 
better  and  more  respectable  is  the  good  poor  man 


TRUE  RESPECTABILITY.  50 

than  the  bad  rich  one — better  the  humble  silent  man 
than  the  agreeable,  well-appointed  rogue,  who  keeps 
his  carriage.  A  well-balanced  and  well-stored  mind, 
a  life  full  of  useful  purpose,  whatever  the  position 
occupied  in  it  may  be — is  of  far  greater  importance 
than  average  worldly  respectability.  The  highest 
object  of  life  we  take  to  be,  to  form  a  manly  charac- 
ter, and  to  work  out  the  best  development  possible,  of 
body  and  spirit — of  mind,  conscience,  heart  and  soul. 
This  is  the  end;  all  else  ought  to  be  regarded  but  as 
the  means.  Accordingly,  that  is  not  the  most  success- 
ful life  in  which  a  man  gets  the  most  pleasure,  the 
most  money,  the  most  power  or  place,  honor  or  fame; 
but  that  in  which  a  man  gets  the  most  manhood,  and 
performs  the  greatest  amount  of  useful  work  and  of 
human  duty.  Money  is  power  after  its  sort,  it  is  true; 
but  intelligence,  public  spirit,  and  moral  virtue,  are 
powers  too,  and  far  nobler  ones.  "  Let  others  plead 
for  pensions,"  wrote  Lord  Collingwood  to  a  friend; 
"  I  can  be  rich  without  money,  by  endeavoring  to  be 
superior  to  everything  poor.  I  would  have  my  services 
to  my  country  unstained  by  any  interested  motive; 
and  old  Scott*  and  I  can  go  on  in  our  cabbage-garden 
without  much  greater  expense  than  formerly."  On 

*  His  old  gardener.      Collingwood' s   favorite   amusement  was 
gardening. 


51  SUCCESS  AND  HAPPINESS. 

another  occasion   he   said,  "  I   have  motives  for  my 
conduct  which  I  would  not  give  in  exchange  for  a 

0 

hundred  pensions." 

The  making  of  a  fortune  may  no  doubt  enable  some 
people  to  "  enter  society,"  as  it  is  called;  but  to  be 
esteemed  there,  they  must  possess  qualities  of  mind, 
manners,  or  heart,  else  they  are  merely  rich  people, 
nothing  more.  There  are  men  "  in  society  '  now,  as 
rich  as  Croesus,  who  have  no  consideration  extended 
towards  them,  and  elicit  no  respect.  For  why?  They 
are  but  as  money-bags,  their  only  power  is  in  their 
till.  The  men  of  mark  in  society — the  guides  and 
rulers  of  opinion — the  really  successful  and  useful 
men — are  not  necessarily  rich  men;  but  men  of  ster- 
ling character,  of  disciplined  experience,  and  of  moral 
excellence. — Smiles. 


LIVING  TOO  HIGH. 

'IDDLE-CLASS  people  are  too  apt  to  live  up 
to  their  incomes,  if  not  beyond  them;  affect- 
ing a  degree  of  "  style  "  which  is  most  un- 
healthy in  its  effect  upon  society  at  large.  There  is 
an  ambition  to  bring  up  boys  as  gentlemen,  or  rather 
"  genteel "  men;  though  the  result  frequently  is,  only 
to  make  them  gents.  They  acquire  a  taste  for  dress, 


APPLICATION  AND  PERSEVERANCE.  52 

style,  luxuries  and  amusements,  which  can  never  form 
any  solid  foundation  for  manly  or  gentlemanly  char- 
acter; and  the  result  is,  that  we  have  a  vast  number  of 
gingerbread  young  gentry  thrown  upon  the  world,  who 
remind  one  of  the  abandoned  hulls  sometimes  picked 
up  at  sea,  with  only  a  monkey  on  board. 

We  keep  up  appearances  too  often  at  the  expense 
of  honesty;  and,  though  we  may  not  be  rich,  yet  we 
must  seem  to  be  so.  We  have  not  the  courage  to  go 
patiently  onward  in  the  condition  of  life  in  which  it 
has  pleased  God  to  call  us;  but  must  needs  live  in  some 
fashionable  state  to  which  we  ridiculously  please  to 
call  ourselves.  There  is  a  constant  struggle  and  pres- 
sure for  front  seats  in  the  social  amphitheatre;  in  the 
midst  of  which  all  noble  self-denying  resolve  is  trodden 
down,  and  many  fine  natures  are  inevitably  crushed  to 
death.  What  waste  and  misery  this  leads  to  we  need 
not  describe. — Smiles. 


APPLICATION  AND  PERSEVERANCE. 

TTHOUT  application  and  perseverance,  if 
we  rise  at  all,  we  shall — to  use  a  common 
expression — "  go  up  like  a  rocket  and  come 
down  like  a  stick."  Sydney  Smith  says:  "  The  pre- 
vailing idea  with  young  people,  has  been  the  iDcom- 

4 


53  SUCCESS  AND  HAPPINESS. 

patibility  of  labor  and  genius  ;  and  therefore,  from 
the  fear  of  being  thought  dull,  they  have  thought  it 
necessary  to  remain  ignorant.  It  would  go  very  far  to 
destroy  the  absurd  and  pernicious  association  of  genius 
and  idleness,  to  show  that  the  greatest  poets,  orators, 
statesmen,  and  historians — men  of  the  most  imposing 
and  brilliant  talents — have  actually  labored  as  hard  as 
the  makers  of  dictionaries  and  arrangers  of  indexes  ; 
and  the  most  obvious  reason  why  they  have  been 
superior  to  other  men,  is,  that  they  have  taken  more 
pains  than  other  men. 

"  Gibbon  was  in  his  study  every  morning,  winter 
and  summer,  at  six  o'clock  ;  Burke  was  the  most 
laborious  and  indefatigable  of  human  beings;  Leibnitz 
was  never  out  of  his  library  ;  Pascal  killed  himself  by 
study ;  Cicero  narrowly  escaped  death  from  the  same 
cause  ;  Milton  was  at  his  books  with  as  much  regular- 
ity as  a  merchant  or  an  attorney  ;  he  had  mastered  all 
the  knowledge  of  his  time  ;  so  had  Homer  ;  Raphael 
lived  but  thirty-seven  years,  and  in  that  short  space 
carried  the  art  of  painting  so  far  beyond  what  it  had 
before  reached,  that  he  appears  to  stand  alone  as  a 
model  to  his  successors." 

Dalton,  the  chemist,  always  repudiated  the  notion  of 
his  being  "  a  genius,"  attributing  everything  which  he 
had  accomplished  to  simple  industry  and  accumulation. 


APPLICATION  AND  PERSEVERANCE.  54 

Disraeli  the  elder,  held  that  the  secret  of  all  success 
consisted  in  being  master  of  your  subject,  such  a 
result  being  only  attainable  through  continuous  appli- 
cation and  study. 

Newton,  when  asked  by  what  means  he  had  worked 
out  his  wonderful  discoveries,  modestly  replied,  "  By 
always  thinking  unto  them." 

A  great  point  is  to  get  the  working  quality  well 
trained.  Facility  comes  with  labor.  Nothing  can  be 
accomplished  without  it.  Continuous  application  will 
effect  marvellous  results  in  the  commonest  of  things. 
It  may  seem  a  simple  thing  to  play  upon  a  violin  ;  yet 
what  a  long  and  laborious  practice  it  requires!  Giar- 
dini,  when  asked  by  a  youth  how  long  it  would  take  to 
learn  it,  replied,  "  Twelve  hours  a  day  for  twenty  years 
together." 

When  Taglioni,  the  great  danseuse,  was  preparing 
herself  for  her  evening  performance,  she  would,  after 
a  severe  two  hours'  lesson  from  her  father,  fall  down 
exhausted,  and  had  to  be  undressed,  spunged,  and 
resuscitated,  totally  unconscious.  Success  was  attained 
only  at  a  price  like  this.  Less  than  half  of  such 
application  devoted  to  self  culture,  could  scarcely  fail 
in  insuring  success.  Progress,  however,  as  a  rule,  is 
slow.  Wonders  cannot  be  achieved  at  once  ;  and  we 
must  be  satisfied  to  advance  in  improvement  as  we 


55  SUCCESS  AND  HAPPINESS. 

walk  step  by  step.  It  has  been  said,  that  "  to  know 
how  to  wait  is  the  great  secret  of  success."  Sow  first, 
then  reap  ;  and  oftentimes  we  must  be  content  to  look 
forward  patiently  in  hope  ;  the  fruit  best  worth  wait- 
ing for  often  ripens  the  slowest.  "  Time  and  patience," 
says  the  Eastern  proverb,  "  change  the  mulberry  leaf 
to  satin." 

The  greatest  results  in  life  are  usually  attained  by 
simple  means,  and  the  exercise  of  ordinary  qualities. 
The  common  life  of  every  day,  with  its  cares,  neces- 
sities, and  duties,  affords  ample  opportunity  for  ac- 
quiring experience  of  the  best  kind ;  and  its  most 
beaten  paths  provide  the  true  worker  with  abundant 
scope  for  effort  and  room  for  self-improvement.  The 
great  high-road  of  human  welfare  lies  along  the  old 
highway  of  steadfast  well-doing ;  and  they  who  arc 
the  most  persistent,  and  work  in  the  truest  spirit,  will 
invariably  be  the  most  successful. 

Fortune  has  often  been  blamed  for  her  blindnes!  ; 
but  fortune  is  not  so  blind  as  men  are.  Those  who 
look  into  practical  life  will  find  that  fortune  is  usually 
on  the  side  of  the  industrious,  as  the  winds  and  waves 
are  on  the  side  of  the  best  navigators.  Success  treads 
on  the  heels  of  every  right  effort ;  and  though  it  is 
possible  to  overestimate  success  to  the  extent  of  almost 


SEDULITY  AND  DILIGENCE.  56 

deifying  it,  as  is  sometimes  done,  still,  in  any  worthy 
pursuit,  it  is  meritorious.  Nor  are  the  qualities  neces- 
sary to  insure  success  at  all  extraordinary.  They  may, 
for  the  most  part,  be  summed  up  in  these  two — com- 
mon sense  and  perseverance. — Smiles. 


SEDULITY  AND  DILIGENCE. 

HERE  is  no  such  prevalent  workman  as  sedu- 
lity  and  diligence.  A  man  would  wonder  at 
the  mighty  things  which  have  been  done  by 
degrees  and  gentle  augmentations.  Diligence  and 
moderation  are  the  best  steps  whereby  to  climb  to  any 
excellency.  Nay,  it  is  rare  if  there  be  any  other  way. 
The  heavens  send  not  down  their  rain  in  floods,  but 
by  drops  and  dewy  distillations.  A  man  is  neither 
good,  nor  wise,  nor  rich,  at  once  :  yet  softly  creeping 
up  these  hills,  he'shall  every  day  better  his  prospect ; 
till  at  last  he  gains  the  top.  Now  he  learns  a  virtue, 
and  then  he  damns  a  vice.  An  hour  in  a  day  may 
much  profit  a  man  in  his  study,  when  he  makes  it  stint 
and  custom.  Every  year  something  laid  up,  may  in 
time  make  a  stock  great.  Nay,  if  a  man  does  but 
save,  he  shall  increase ;  and  though  when  the  grains 
are  scattered,  they  be  next  to  nothing,  yet  together 


57  SUCCESS  AND  HAPPINESS. 

they  wilf  swell  the  heap.  He  that  has  the  patience  to 
attend  small  profits,  may  quickly  grow  to  thrive  and 
purchase  j  they  be  easier  to  accomplish,  and  come 
thicker.  So,  he  that  from  everything  collects  some- 
what, shall  in  time  get  a  treasury  of  wisdom.  And 
when  all  is  done,  for  man,  this  is  the  best  way.  It  is 
for  God,  and  for  Omnipotency,  to  do  mighty  things  in 
a  moment ;  but,  degreeingly  to  grow  to  greatness,  is  the 
course  that  he  hath  left  for  man. — fdtham. 


t    GOOD  COUNSEL 

'URN1SH  yourselves  with  a  rich  variety  of  ideas  ; 
acquaint  yourselves  with  things  ancient  and 
modern ;  things  natural,  civil,  and  religious ; 
things  domestic  and  national ;  things  of  your  native 
land  and  of  foreign  countries  ;  things  present,  past, 
and  future  ;  and,  above  all,  be  well  acquainted  with 
God  and  yourselves  ;  learn  animal  nature,  and  the 
workings  of  your  own  spirits. 

The  way  of  attaining  such  an  extensive  treasure  of 
ideas  is,  with  diligence  to  apply  yourself  to  read  the 
best  books ;  converse  with  the  most  knowing  and  the 
wisest  of  men,  and  endeavor  to  improve  by  every  per- 
son in  whose  company  you  are  ;  suffer  no  hour  to  pass 


GOOD  COUNSEL.  58 

away  in  a  lazy  idleness,  in  impertinent  chattering,  or 
useless  trifles ;  visit  other  cities  and  countries  when 
you  have  seen  your  own,  under  the  care  of  one  who 
can  teach  you  to  profit  by  traveling,  and  to  make  wise 
observations  ;  indulge  a  just  curiosity  in  seeing  the 
wonders  of  art  and  nature ;  search  into  things  your- 
selves, as  well  as  learn  them  from  others  ;  be  ac- 
quainted with  men  as  well  as  books ;  learn  all  things 
as  much  as  you  can  at  first  hand  ;  and  let  as  many  of 
your  ideas  as  possible  be  the  representations  of 
things,  and  not  merely  the  representations  of  other 
men's  ideas  ;  thus  your  soul,  like  some  noble  building, 
shall  be  richly  furnished  with  original  paintings,  and 
not  with  mere  copies. 

Use  the  most  proper  methods  to  retain  that  treasure  of 
ideas  which  you  have  acquired ;  for  the  mind  is  ready 
to  let  many  of  them  slip,  unless  some  pains  and  labor 
be  taken  to  fix  them  upon  the  memory. 

And  more  especially  let  those  ideas  be  laid  up  and 
preserved  with  the  greatest  care,  which  are  most 
directly  suited,  either  to  your  eternal  welfare  as  a 
Christian,  or  to  your  particular  station  and  profession 
in  this  life  ;  for  though  the  former  rule  recommends 
a  universal  acquaintance  with  things,  yet  it  is  but  a 
more  general  and  superficial  knowledge  that  is  required 
or  expected  of  any  man,  in  things  which  are  utterly 


59  SUCCESS  AND  HAPPINESS. 

. 

foreign  to  his  own  business;  but  it  is  necessary  you 
should  have  a  more  particular  and  accurate  acquaint- 
ance with  those  things  that  refer  to  your  peculiar 
province  and  duty  in  this  life,  or  your  happiness  in 
another. —  Watts. 


COURAGE  OF  HOPE. 

OPE  is  like  the  sun,  which,  as  we  journey 
towards  it,  casts  the  shadow  of  our  burden  be- 
hind us.  One  of  the  most  cheerful  and 
courageous,  because  one  of  the  most  hopeful  of 
workers,  was  Carey,  the  missionary.  When  in  India, 
it  was  no  uncommon  thing  for  him  to  weary  out  three 
pundits,  who  officiated  as  his  clerks,  in  one  day,  he 
himself  taking  rest  only  in  change  of  employment 
Carey,  himself  the  son  of  a  shoemaker,  was  supported 
in  his  labors  by  Ward,  the  son  of  a  carpenter,  and 
Marshman,  the  son  of  a  weaver.  By  their  labors,  a 
magnificent  college  was  erected  at  Serampere;  sixteen 
flourishing  stations  were  established;  the  Bible  was 
translated  into  sixteen  languages,  and  the  seeds  were 
sown  of  a  beneficent  moral  revolution  in  British  India. 
Carey  was  never  ashamed  of  the  humbleness  of  his 
origin.  On  one  occasion  when  at  the  Governor- 
General's  table,  he  overheard  an  officer  opposite  him 


CHOOSE  GOOD  COMPANIONS.  60 

asking  another  loud  enough  to  be  heard,  whether 
Carey  had  once  been  a  shoemaker.  "  No,  sir,"  ex- 
claimed Carey  immediately,  "  only  a  cobbler." 

But  to  wait  patiently,  men  must  labor  cheerfully. 
Cheerfulness  and  diligence  are  the  life  and  soul  of 
success,  as  well  as  happiness  ;  perhaps  the  very  highest 
pleasure  in  life  consisting  in  conscientious,  brisk,  hard 
working — energy,  confidence,  and  every  other  good 
quality  mainly  depending  upon  it. 

Laborers  for  the  public  good,  especially,  have  to 
work  long  and  patiently,  often  uncheered  by  the  pros- 
pect of  immediate  recompense  or  result.  The  seeds 
they  sow  often  lie  hidden  under  the  winter's  snow, 
and  before  the  spring  comes,  the  husbandman  may 
have  gone  to  his  rest. 


CHOOSE  GOOD  COMPANIONS. 

'WO  are  better  than  one,  and  you  will  find  it 
both  protection  and  incentive  if  you  can 
secure  a  faithful  friend;  and  in  some  respects 
better  than  two  are  the  many;  therefore  you  cannot  do 
more  wisely  than  seek  out  in  the  Young  Men's  Society 
a  wider  companionship;  and  whilst  instructed  by  the 
information  of  some,  and  strengthened  by  the  firmer 
faith  or  larger  experience  of  others,  there  are  import 


61  SUCCESS  AND  HAPPINESS. 

ant  themes  on  which  you  will  learn  to  think  with  pre- 
cision, and  in  the  exercise  of  public  speaking  you  will 
either  acquire  a  useful  talent  or  will  turn  it  to  good 
account. — Hamilton. 


LOVE  OF  KNOWLEDGE. 

TDNEY  SMITH,  writing  on  this  subject,  uses 
the  following  language  :  "  I  solemnly  declare, 
that  but  for  the  love  of  knowledge,  I  should 
consider  the  life  of  the  meanest  hedger  and  ditcher  as 
preferable  to  that  of  the  greatest  and  richest  man  in 
existence  ;  for  the  fire  of  our  minds  is  like  the  fires 
which  the  Persians  burn  in  the  mountains,  it  flames 
night  and  day,  and  is  immortal,  and  not  to  be 
quenched  !  Upon  something  it  must  act  and  feed — 
upon  the  pure  spirit  of  knowledge,  or  upon  the  foul 
dregs  of  polluting  passions.  Therefore,  when  I  say, 
in  conducting  your  understanding,  love  knowledge 
with  a  great  love,  with  a  vehement  love,  with  a  love 
co-eval  with  life — what  do  I  say  but  love  innocence, 
love  virtue,  love  purity  of  conduct,  love  that  which, 
if  you  are  rich  and  great,  will  vindicate  the  blind 
fortune  which  has  made  you  so,  and  make  men  call  it 
justice ;  love  that  which,  if  you  are  poor,  will  render 
your  poverty  respectable,  and  make  the  proudest  feel 


LOVE  OF  KNOWLEDGE.  62 

it  unjust  to  laugh  at  the  meanness  of  your  fortunes  ; 
love  that  which  will  comfort  you,  adorn  you,  and 
never  quit  you — which  will  open  to  you  the  kingdom 
of  thought,  and  all  the  boundless  regions  of  concep- 
tion, as  an  asylum  against  the  cruelty,  the  injustice, 
and  the  pain  that  may  be  your  lot  in  the  world — that 
which  will  make  your  motives  habitually  great  and 
honorable,  and  light  up  in  an  instant  a  thousand  noble 
disdains  at  the  very  thought  of  meanness  and  of 
fraud. 

"  Therefore,  if  any  young  man  has  embarked  his 
life  in  pursuit  of  knowledge,  let  him  go  in  without 
doubting  or  fearing  the  event,  let  him  not  be  intimi- 
dated by  the  cheerless  beginnings  of  knowledge,  by 
the  darkness  from  which  she  springs,  by  the  difficulties 
which  hover  around  her,  by  the  wretched  habitations 
in  which  she  dwells,  by  the  want  and  sorrow  which 
sometimes  journey  in  her  train  ;  but  let  him  ever  fol- 
low her  as  the  angel  that  guards  him,  and  as  the 
genius  of  his  life,  she  will  bring  him  out  at  last  into 
the  light  of  day,  and  exhibit  him  to  the  world  com- 
prehensive in  acquirements,  fertile  in  resources,  rich 
in  imagination,  strong  in  reasoning,  prudent  and 
powerful  above  his  fellows  in  all  the  relations  and  in 
all  the  offices  of  life." 

Different  people  love  different  kinds  of  knowledge  j 


63  SUCCESS  AND  HAPPINESS. 

but  there  are  some  who  would  like  to  excel  in  every- 
thing good.  The  mistake  of  many  is  in  their  trying 
to  acquire  knowledge  which  they  do  not  love — in  let- 
ting their  ambition  to  excel  overmaster  them — and  the 
result  is  that  there  are  large  numbers  of  half  educated 
people  in  the  world  who  are  like  the  child  and  the 
apples.  A  gentleman  bought  a  lot  of  apples,  and 
offered  one  to  a  little  child.  It  was  pleased,  and  took 
it  eagerly.  He  then  offered  it  another,  which  it  also 
grasped.  He  kept  giving  it  the  apples  one  after 
another,  the  child  reaching  for  them  just  as  fast  as  he 
offered  them,  until  at  last  its  little  arms  were  full,  and 
in  reaching  for  the  last  one,  all  the  others  rolled  on 
the  ground.  Then  it  cried.  It  had  tried  to  grasp 
r\ore  than  it  could  hold. 


SELF-DENIAL 

Y]J|THE  lesson  of  self-denial  is  far  beyond  any  other 
in  importance.     It  must  be  repeated  a  thou- 
sand times  over  before  it  is  really  learnt  by 
tieart,  but  oh,  how   worthy  the  pains!     Happy  is  he 
who  has  learnt  not  to  seek  for  what  is  pleasant,  not  to 
shrink  from  what  is  painful,  but  to  go  on  doing  every- 
thing that  he  knows  to  be  good,  and  kind,  and  right, 


IDLENESS  NOT  HAPPINESS.  64 

• 

in  utter  disregard  of  self.  How  a  man  might  ennoble 
and  invigorate  his  life  if  he  would  work  this  principle 
into  the  very  grain  of  his  mind,  and  strenuously  act 
upon  it,  invariably  striving  not  after  what  would  be 
pleasantest ;  but  what  would  be  best.  In  fact,  it  is  the 
very  essence  of  all  that  is  good  and  great  in  human 
life ;  and  not  only  so,  but  it  is  the  true  road  to  happi- 
ness. This  is  doubtless  what  our  Saviour  means  when 
he  says  that  he  that  hath  left  home  and  brethren  for 
his  sake  shall  receive  an  hundred  fold  even  in  his  life. 
— Charles  Buxton. 


IDLENESS  NOT  HAPPINESS. 

most  common  error  of  men  and  women  is 
that  of  looking  for  happiness  somewhere  out- 
side of  useful  work.  It  has  never  yet  been 
found  when  thus  sought,  and  never  will  be  while  the 
world  stands  ;  and  the  sooner  this  truth  is  learned  the 
better  for  everyone.  If  you  doubt  the  proposition, 
glance  around  among  your  friends  and  acquaintances, 
and  select  those  who  appear  to  have  the  most  enjoy- 
ment in  life.  Are  they  the  idlers  and  pleasure-seekers, 
or  the  earnest  workers  ?  We  know  what  your  answer 
will  be.  Of  all  the  miserable  human  beings  it  has 
been  our  fortune  or  misfortune  to  know,  they  were  the 


65  SUCCESS  AND  HAPPINESS. 

most  wretched  who  had  retired  from  useful  employ- 
ment to  enjoy  themselves ;  while  the  slave  at  his 
enforced  labor,  or  the  hungry  toiler  for  bread,  were 
supremely  happy  in  comparison. 


PROCRASTINATION. 

'RS.  WHITNEY  says,  in  one  of  her  books, 
that  "  the  things  which  are  crowded  out  of  a 
life  are  the  test  of  that  life,"  and  we  believe 
that  the  saying  is  true  in  its  widest  sense.  Examine 
our  lives  closely,  and  we  shall  find  that  we  constantly 
delude  ourselves  with  the  idea  that  we  would  accom- 
plish certain  things  if  we  had  time,  when,  in  truth, 
we  have  no  real  desire  for  those  things.  One  person 
will  say  that  reading  is  out  of  the  question ;  another 
will  bewail  the  impossibility  of  maintaining  social 
relations  ;  a  third  will  avow  that  charitable  or  benevo- 
lent enterprises  would  delight  her  if  she  might  engage 
in  them  ;  and  all  the  time  these  good  people  are  com- 
forting themselves  with  a  fallacy.  The  things  for  which 
they  do  find  time  are  the  things  they  prefer.  The 
things  which  are  crowded  out  are  the  things  they 
would  not  choose  if  life  lay  unemployed  before  them. 
Scores  of  wives  and  mothers  are  busied  constantly 


VALUE  OF  TIME.  66 

with  their  family  cares,  but  not  one  in  every  score 
loves  music  enough  to  steal  time  for  practice.  Hun- 
dreds of  young  men  are  forced  by  stress  of  circum- 
stances to  work  hard  for  daily  subsistence,  but  only 
one  in  a  thousand,  perhaps,  conquers  the  difficulty  of 
his  position,  and  makes  a  name  for  himself.  This  one 
might  not  have  found  his  way  easier  or  its  upward 
steps  less  tiresome,  but  he  wanted  to  succeed,  and  so 
wanting,  let  nothing  needful  be  crowded  out. 


VALUE  OF  TIME. 

"OHN  LOCKE,  the  English  philosopher,  was  a 
favorite  with  many  of  the  great  noblemen  of 
his  age.  They  liked  his  robust  sense  and  ready 
wit,  and  enjoyed  even  the  sharp  reproofs  in  which  he 
occasionally  indulged.  On  one  occasion  he  had  been 
invited  to  meet  a  select  party  at  Lord  Ashley's.  When 
he  came  they  were  playing  at  cards,  and  continued 
absorbed  in  the  game  for  two  or  three  hours. 

For  some  time  Locke  looked  on,  and  then  began 
to  write  diligently  in  a  blank  book  taken  from  his 
pocket.  At  length  they  asked  him  what  he  was  writ- 
ing. He  answered : 

"  My  lords,  I  am  improving  myself  the  best  I  can 


67  SUCCESS  AND  HAPPINESS. 

in  your  company;  for,  having  impatiently  waited  this 
honor  of  being  present  at  such  a  meeting  of  the  wise 
men  and  great  wits  of  the  age,  I  thought  I  could  not 
do  better  than  write  down  your  conversation,  and  here 
I  have  in  substance  all  that  has*  passed  for  this  hour 
or  two." 

The  noble  lords  were  so  ashamed  at  the  written 
record  of  their  frivolous  talk,  that  they  at  once  stopped 
card-playing,  and  began  the  discussion  of  an  import- 
ant subject. 

Thomas  Carlyle  has  uttered  even  a  more  pungent 
reproof  of  idle  talk  :  "  If  we  can  permit  God  Al- 
mighty," he  says,  "  to  write  down  our  conversation, 
thinking  it  good  enough  for  him,  any  poor  Boswell 
need  not  scruple  to  work  his  will." 


VALUE  OF  ODD  MOMENTS. 

BURRITT,  the  learned  blacksmith,  says: 
"  All  that  I  have  accomplished,  or  expect, 
or  hope  to  accomplish,  has  been  and  will 
be  by  that  plodding,  patient,  persevering  process 
of  accretion  which  builds  the  ant-heap,  particle  by 
particle,  thought  by  thought,  fact  by  fact.  If  I  was 


BEHIND  TIME.  68 

ever  actuated  by  ambition,  its  highest  and  warmest 
aspiration  reached  no  further  than  the  hope  to  set 
before  the  young  men  of  my  country  an  example  in 
employing  those  invaluable  fragments  of  time  called 
odd  moments  1  " 


BEHIND  TIME. 

RAILROAD  TRAIN  was  rushing  along  at 
almost  lightning  speed.  A  curve  was  just 
ahead,  beyond  which  was  a  station  at  which 
the  cars  usually  passed  each  other.  The  conductor 
was  late,  so  late  that  the  period  during  which  the  down 
train  was  to  wait  had  nearly  elapsed,  but  he  hoped  yet 
to  pass  the  curve  safely.  Suddenly  a  locomotive 
dashed  into  sight  right  ahead.  In  an  instant  there 
was  a  collision.  A  shriek,  a  shock,  and  fifty  souls 
were  in  eternity;  and  all  because  a  conductor  had  been 
behind  time. 

A  great  battle  was  going  on.  Column  after  column 
had  been  precipitated  for  eight  mortal  hours  on  the 
enemy  posted  along  the  ridge  of  a  hill.  The  summer 
sun  was  sinking  to  the  west,  reinforcements  for  the 
obstinate  defenders  were  already  in  sight;  it  was 
necessary  to  carry  the  position  with  one  final  charge, 
or  everything  would  be 
5 


69  SUCCESS  AND  HAPPINESS. 

A  powerful  corps  had  been  summoned  from  across 
the  country,  and  if  it  came  up  in  season,  all  would  yet 
be  well.  The  great  conqueror,  confident  in  its  arrival, 
formed  his  reserve  into  an  attacking  column,  and 
ordered  them  to  charge  the  enemy.  The  whole  world 
knows  the  result.  Grouchy*  failed  to  appear;  the  im- 
perial guard  was  beaten  back;  Waterloo  was  lost. 
Napoleon  died  a  prisoner  at  St.  Helena,  because  one 
of  his  marshals  was  behind  time. 

A  leading  firm  in  commercial  circles  had  long 
struggled  against  bankruptcy.  As  it  had  enormous 
assets  in  California,  it  expected  remittances  by  a  cer- 
tain day,  and  if  the  sums  promised  arrived,  its  credit, 
its  honor,  and  its  future  prosperity  would  be  preserved. 
But  week  after  week  elapsed  without  bringing  the  gold. 
At  last  came  the  fatal  day  on  which  the  firm  had  bills 
maturing  to  enormous  amounts.  The  steamer  was 
telegraphed  at  daybreak  ;  but  it  was  found,  on  inquiry, 
that  she  brought  no  funds,  and  the  house  failed.  The 
next  arrival  brought  nearly  half  a  million  to  the  in- 
solvents, but  it  was  too  late;  they  were  ruined  because 
their  agent,  in  remitting,  had  been  behind  time. 


*  Napoleon  Bonaparte,  Emperor  of  France,  was  defeated  by 
the  allies  under  the  Duke  of  Wellington,  at  Waterloo,  June  18, 
1815.  Marshal  Grouchy  was  expected  to  aid  the  Emperor  with  a 
body  of  troops,  but  failed  to  appear. 


BEHIND  TIME.  70 

I 
A  condemned  man  was  led  out  for  execution.     He 

had  taken  human  life,  but  under  circumstances  of  the 
greatest  provocation,  and  public  sympathy  was  active 
in  his  behalf.  Thousands  had  signed  the  petition  for 
a  reprieve;  a  favorable  answer  had  been  expected  the 
night  before,  and  though  it  had  not  come,  even  the 
sheriff  felt  confident  that  it  would  yet  arrive  in  season. 
Thus  the  morning  passed  without  the  appearance  of 
the  messenger.  The  last  moment  was  up.  The  pri- 
soner took  his  place  in  the  drop,  the  cap  was  drawn 
over  his  eyes,  the  bolt  was  drawn,  and  a  lifeless  body 
swung  revolving  in  the  wind.  Just  at  that  moment  a 
horseman  came  into  sight,  galloping  down  hill,  his 
steed  covered  with  foam.  He  carried  a  packet  in  his 
right  hand,  which  he  waved  rapidly  to  the  crowd.  He 
was  the  express  rider  with  the  reprieve.  But  he  had 
come  too  late.  A  comparatively  innocent  man  had 
died  an  ignominious  death  because  a  watch  had  been 
five  minutes  too  slow,  making  its  bearer  arrive  behind 
time. 

It  is  continually  so  in  life.  The  best  laid  plans,  the 
most  important  affairs,  the  fortunes  of  individuals,  the 
weal  of  nations,  honor,  happiness,  life  itself,  are  daily 
sacrificed  because  somebody  is  "  behind  time."  There 
are  others  who  put  off  reformation  year  by  year,  till 
death  seizes  them,  and  they  perish  unrepentant, 


71  SUCCESS  AND  HAPPINESS. 

because  forever  "behind  time."  Five  minutes  in  a 
crisis  is  worth  years.  It  is  but  a  little  period,  yet  it 
has  often  saved  a  fortune  or  redeemed  a  people.  If 
there  is  one  virtue  that  should  be  cultivated  more  than 
another  by  him  who  would  succeed  in  life,  it  is  punc- 
tuality; if  there  is  one  error  that  should  be  avoided,  it 
is  being  behind  time. — Freeman  Hunt. 


ONE  BY  ONE. 

One  by  one  the  sands  are  flowing, 
One  by  one  the  moments  fall; 

Some  are  coming,  some  are  going; 
Do  not  strive  to  catch  them  all. 

One  by  one  thy  duties  wait  thee; 

Let  thy  whole  strength  go  to  each; 
Let  no  future  dreams  elate  thee; 

Learn  thou  first  what  these  can  teach 

One  by  one  (bright  gifts  from  heaven) 
Joys  are  sent  thee  here  below; 

Take  them  readily  when  given — 
Ready,  too,  to  let  them  go. 

One  by  one  thy  griefs  shall  meet  thee; 

Do  not  fear  an  armed  band; 
One  will  fade  as  others  greet  thee — 

Shadows  passing  through  the  land. 


LEARNING  IN  YOUTH.  72 

Do  not  laugh  at  life's  long  sorrow; 

See  how  small  each  moment's  pain: 
God  will  help  thee  for  to-morrow; 

Every  day  begin  again. 

Every  hour,  that  fleets  so  slowly, 

Has  its  task  to  do  or  bear; 
Luminous  the  crown,  and  holy, 

If  thou  set  each  gem  with  care, 

Hours  are  golden  links — God's  token 

Reaching  heaven;  but  one  by  one, 
Take  them,  lest  the  chain  be  broken 

Ere  thy  pilgrimage  be  done, 

— Miss  PROCTOR. 


LEARNING  IN  YOUTH. 

'ANIEL  WEBSTER  once  told  a  good  story  in 
a  speech,  and  was  asked  where  he  got  it.  "  I 
have  had  it  laid  up  in  my  head  for  fourteen 
years,  and  never  had  a  chance  to  use  it  until  to-day," 
said  he. 

My  little  friend  wants  to  know  what  good  it  will  do 
to  learn  the  "  rule  of  three,"  or  to  commit  a  verse  of 
the  Bible.  The  answer  is  this  :  "  Sometime  you  will 
need  that  very  thing.  Perhaps  it  may  be  twenty  years 
before  you  can  make  it  fit  in  just  the  right  place  ;  but 


73  SUCCESS  AND  HAPPINESS. 

it  will  be  just  in  place  sometime.  Then,  if  you  don't 
have  it,  you  will  be  like  the  hunter  who  had  no  ball  in 
his  rifle  when  a  bear  met  him. 

"  Twenty-five  years  ago  my  teacher  made  me  study 
surveying,"  said  a  man  who  had  lately  lost  his  prop- 
erty, "  and  now  I  am  glad  of  it.  It  is  just  in  place. 
I  can  get  a  good  situation  and  high  salary." 


THE  POWER  OF  KINDNESS. 

'URING  the  days  of  the  French  convention, 
Penel,  the  master  of  the  lunatic  asylum,  de- 
sired permission  to  employ  a  new  method  for 
the  recovery  of  its  inmates.  It  was  usual  then  to  treat 
these  helpless  creatures  as  brutes ;  to  scourge  them 
with  stripes,  to  load  them  with  chains,  and  fasten  them 
securely  to  the  floors  of  their  cells.  Hundreds  were 
thus  bound  when  Penel  bethought  him  of  a  more  ex- 
cellent way.  He  proposed  to  the  convention  a  radical 
change  of  treatment ;  especially  he  recommended  that 
the  insane  be  treated  as  patients,  and  be  freed  from 
their  chains.  While  the  convention  yielded  its  con- 
.sent,  the  president,  M.  Caithon,  regarded  the  keeper 
as  crazy.  The  day  came  for  the  experiment  to  be 
made,  and  the  keeper  released,  first  of  all,  a  wretched 


LET  BYGONES  BE  BYGONES.  74 

man  who  had  been  bound  for  forty  years.  This  victiiu 
of  ignorant  cruelty  did  not  destroy  his  benefactor,  as 
Caithon  had  expected,  but  quietly  staggered  to  the 
window  of  his  cell,  and,  looking  out  through  the  tears 
that  filled  his  eyes,  on  the  placid  sky,  gently  mur- 
mured, "  Beautiful,  oh  !  how  beautiful !  " 

Shall  human  kindness  have  such  power  to  subdue 
and  to  rekindle  the  dying  flame  of  reason,  and  heavenly 
grace  be  impotent  to  soften  the  hard  heart  and  to  be- 
get the  life  of  righteousness  ?  No.  I  am  persuaded 
when  grace  enters  the  dark  prison-house  of  sin,  and  is 
permitted  to  break  the  fetters  of  iniquity,  the  freed 
soul,  amazed  at  the  matchless  clemency,  will  not 
merely  cry  "  Beautiful,  beautiful,"  but,  by  the  "  beauty 
of  holiness  "  clothing  thought  and  deed,  will  show 
forth  its  increasing  gratitude,  love  and  praise. — Rev. 
George  C.  Lorimer,  D.  D. 


LET  BYGONES  BE  BYGONES. 

ET  bygones  be  bygones;  if  bygones  were  clouded 

By  aught  that  occasioned  a  pang  of  regret, 
O,  let  them  in  darkest  oblivion  be  shrouded: 
'Tis  wise  and  'tis  kind  to  forgive  and  forget. 

Let  bygones  be  bygones,  and  good  be  extracted 
From  ill,  over  which  it  is  folly  to  fret; 


75  SUCCESS  AND  HAPPINESS. 

The  wisest  of  mortals  have  foolishly  acted — 
The  kindest  are  those  who  forgive  and  forget. 

Let  bygones  be  bygones;  O  cherish  no  longer 
The  thought  that  the  sun  of  affection  has  set; 

Eclipsed  for  a  moment,  its  rays  will  be  stronger 
If  you,  like  a  Christian,  forgive  and  forget. 

Let  bygones  be  bygones,  your  heart  will  be  lighter 
When  kindness  of  yours  with  reception  has  met; 

The  flame  of  your  heart  will  be  purer  and  brighter 
If,  God-like,  you  strive  to  forgive  and  forget. 

Let  bygones  be  bygones;  O,  purge  out  the  leaven 

Of  malice,  and  try  an  example  to  set 
To  others,  who,  craving  the  mercy  of  heaven, 

Are  sadly  too  slow  to  forgive  and  forget. 

Let  bygones  be  bygones;  remember  how  deeply 
To  heaven's  forbearance  we  all  are  in  debt  1 

They  value  God's  infinite  goodness  too  cheaply 
To  heed  not  the  precept,  "  Forgive  and  Forget." 

— CHAMBER'S  JOURNAL, 


THOUGHTLESSNESS  OF  YOUTH. 

I          general,  I  have  no  patience  with  people  who 
talk  about  the  "  thoughtlessness  of  youth,"  in- 
dulgently.     I    had    infinitely   rather    hear    of 
thoughtless  old  age,  and  the  indulgence  due  to  that. 


WASHINGTON  ON  SWEARING.  76 

When  a  man  has  done  his  work,  and  nothing  can  in 
any  way  be  materially  altered  in  his  fate,  let  him  for- 
get his  toil  and  jest  with  his  fate,  if  he  will;  but  what 
excuse  can  you  find  for  willfulness  of  thought,  at  the 
very  time  when  every  crisis  of  future  fortune  hangs  on 
your  decisions?  A  youth  thoughtless!  when  all  the 
happiness  of  his  home  forever  depends  on  the  chances, 
or  the  passions  of  an  hour!  A  youth  thoughtless! 
when  his  every  act  is  a  foundation  stone  of  future  con- 
duct, and  every  imagination  a  fountain  of  life  or 
death!  Be  thoughtless  in  any  after  years,  rather  than 
now — though  indeed  there  is  only  one  place  where  a 
man  may  be  nobly  thoughtless — his  death-bed.  No 
thinking  should  ever  be  left  to  be  done  there. — Ruskin. 


WASHINGTON  ON  SWEARING. 

'N  the   2gth  of  July,  1779,  one  hundred  years 
ago,    General   Washington    issued   a   special 
order,  at  West  Point,  in  reference  to  the  prac- 
tice of  profanity: 

"  Many  and  pointed  orders  have  been  issued  against 
that  unmeaning  and  abominable  custom  of  swearing, 
notwithstanding  which,  with  much  regret,  the  Geneial 
observes  that  it  prevails,  if  possible,  more  than  ever ; 


77  SUCCESS  AND  HAPPINESS. 

nis  feelings  are  continually  wounded  by  the  oaths  and 
imprecations  of  the  soldiers  whenever  he  is  in  hearing 
of  them. 

"The  name  of  that  Being  from  whose  bountiful 
goodness  we  are  permitted  to  exist  and  enjoy  the  com- 
forts of  life,  is  incessantly  imprecated  and  profaned 
in  a  manner  as  wanton  as  it  is  shocking.  For  the 
sake,  therefore,  of  religion,  decency  and  order,  the 
General  hopes  and  trusts  that  officers  of  every  rank 
will  use  their  influence  and  authority  to  check  a  vice 
which  is  as  unprofitable  as  wicked  and  shameful. 

"  If  officers  would  make  it  an  unavoidable  rule  to 
reprimand,  and,  if  that  does  not  do,  punish  soldiers 
for  offences  of  this  kind,  it  could  not  fail  of  having 
the  desired  effect." 


BEWARE  OF  LITTLE  SINS. 

"T  is  a  solemn  thought  this  of  the  steady  continu- 
ous  aggravation  of  sin  in  the  individual  charac- 
ter. Surely  nothing  can  be  small  which  goes  to 
make  up  that  rapidly  growing  total.  Beware  of  the 
little  beginnings  which  "  eat  as  doth  a  canker."  Be- 
ware of  the  slightest  deflection  from  the  straight  line 
of  right.  If  there  be  two  lines,  one  straight  and  the 
other  going  off  at  the  sharpest  angle,  you  have  only  to 


CONSCIENTIOUSNESS  IN  SMALL  THINGS.          78 

produce  both  far  enough,  and  there  will  be  room 
between  them  for  all  the  space  that  separates  hell  from 
heaven!  Beware  of  lading  your  souls  with  the  weight 
of  small  single  sins.  We  heap  upon  ourselves  by 
slow,  steady  accretion  through  a  lifetime  the  weight, 
that  though  it  is  gathered  by  grains,  crushes  the  soul. 
There  is  nothing  heavier  than  sand.  You  may  lift  it 
by  particles.  It  drifts  in  atoms,  but  heaped  upon  a 
man  it  will  break  his  bones,  and  blown  over  the  land 
it  buries  pyramid  and  sphynx,  the  temples  of  gods  and 
the  homes  of  men  beneath  its  barren,  solid  waves. 
The  leprosy  gnaws  the  flesh  off  a  man's  bones,  and 
joints  and  limbs  drop  off — he  is  a  living  death.  So 
with  every  soul  that  is  under  the  dominion  of  these 
lying  desires — it  is  slowly  rotting  away  piecemeal, 
"  waxing  corrupt  according  to  the  lusts  of  deceit." 


CONSCIENTIOUSNESS  IN  SMALL 

THINGS. 

WOMAN  employed  a  man  to  paint  a  house 
she  had  just  built.  The  painter  was  a  mem- 
ber of  a  Christian  church,  active  in  the 
prayer-meeting  and  in  church  work,  and  apparently  a 
man  of  exemplary  piety.  His  work  was  seemingly 


79  SUCCESS  AND  HAPPINESS. 

well  done,  but  it  was  afterwards  discovered  that  he  had 
slighted  his  work  in  places  where  he  thought  the 
neglect  would  not  be  noticed.  His  employer  re- 
marked :  "  I  have  discounted  that  man's  piety  and 
prayers  ever  since.  I  prefer  Christians  who  will  fill 
up  the  nail  holes  with  putty,  and  paint  the  tops  of  the 
doors  in  the  upper  story."  "  It  has  often  seemed  to 
us,"  says  the  Examiner,  "  that  this  man  was  not  an 
exceptional  case.  How  many  professed  Christians 
fail  to  realize  that  piety  has  a  connection  with  paint 
and  putty — that  the  little  things  of  life  are  the  truest, 
as  they  are  the  severest  tests  of  Christian  character. 
Anyone  who  has  to  employ  others  to  do  work  for  him 
knows  how  rare  it  is  to  find  a  man  or  woman  who  is 
conscientious  about  small  things;  who  never  '  scamps ' 
his  work,  and  never  wastes  his  employer's  time  or 
stock."  The  Examiner  adds  : 

"  The  cultivation  of  a  greater  conscientiousness 
with  regard  to  the  little  things  of  everyday  life,  which 
are  commonly  considered  to  have  no  bearing  on  piety, 
is  one  of  the  almost  universal  needs,  even  among 
Christian  people.  The  painter  Opie  replied  to  a 
query  as  to  how  he  mixed  his  colors,  f  With  brains, 
sir.'  The  best  type  of  Christian  character  must  be 
that  of  the  man  who  mixes  his  daily  work  with  con- 
science, and  strives  to  do  everything,  even  the  most 


EFFECTS  OF  WORRY.  80 

4 

insignificant,  as  unto  the  Lord.  Until  this  shall  be  the 
standard  of  everyday  Christian  living,  there  must  be 
a  great  deal  done  in  the  way  of  discounting  piety  and 
prayers. ' ' —  Christian  Union. 


EFFECTS  OF  WORRY, 

'ORRYING  is  one  of  the  great  drawbacks  to 
happiness.  Most  of  it  can  be  avoided  if 
we  only  determine  not  to  let  trifles  annoy 
us;  for  the  largest  amount  of  worrying  is  caused  by 
the  smallest  trifles. 

A  writer  in  Chambers'  Journal  says  :  "  That  the 
effects  of  worry  are  more  to.  be  dreaded  than  those  of 
simple  hard  work,  is  evident  from  noting  the  class  of 
persons  who  suffer  most  from  the  effects  of  overstrain. 
The  case-book  of  the  physician  shows  that  it  is  the 
speculator,  the  betting  man,  the  railway  manager,  the 
great  merchant,  the  superintendent  of  large  manufac- 
turing or  commercial  works,  who  most  frequently  ex- 
hibit the  symptoms  of  cerebral  exhaustion.  Mental 
cases  accompanied  by  suppressed  emotion,  occupa- 
tions liable  to  great  vicissitudes  of  fortune,  and  those 
which  involve  the  bearing  on  the  mind  of  a  multiplicity 
of  intricate  details,  eventually  break  down  the  lives  <»f 


81  SUCCESS  AND  HAPPINESS. 

the  strongest.  In  estimating  what  may  be  called  the 
staying  powers  of  different  minds  under  hard  work,  it 
is  always  necessary  to  take  early  training  into  account. 
A  young  man,  cast  suddenly  into  a  position  involving 
great  care  and  responsibility,  will  break  down;  whereas, 
had  he  been  gradually  habituated  to  this  position,  he 
would  have  performed  its  duties  without  difficulty.  It 
is  probably  for  this  reason  that  the  professional  classes 
generally  surfer  less  from  the  effects  of  overstrain  than 
others.  They  have  had  a  long  course  of  preliminary 
training,  and  their  work  comes  on  them  by  degrees ; 
therefore,  when  it  does  come  in  excessive  quantity,  it 
finds  them  prepared  for  it.  Those,  on  the  other  hand, 
who  suddenly  vault  into  a  position  requiring  severe 
mental  toil,  generally  die  before  their  time." 


KEEP  YOUR  TEMPER. 

f  OU  will  accomplish  nothing  by  losing  it.    Many 


men  date  their  failure  in  business  to  some 
hasty  and  ill-considered  statement  made  during 
a  fit  of  temper.  When  things  go  awry,  business  is 
dull,  and  the  prospect  is  dark  ahead,  it  is  very  poor 
consolation  to  indulge  in  passionate  and  angry  remarks 
to  those  with  whom  you  are  associated.  The  frown 


TRUTH  AND  FALSEHOOD.  82 

on  a  man's  face  is  a  good  indication  of  the  state  of  the 
feelings  within.  The  world  judges  men  by  their  out- 
ward conduct  and  behavior,  and  ill-natured,  cross- 
grained  men  rarely  become  successful. 

Solomon  says  :  "  He  that  is  slow  to  anger  is  better 
than  the  mighty  ;  and  he  that  ruleth  his  spirit  than  he 
that  taketh  a  city  ;  "  "  Seest  thou  a  man  that  is  hasty 
in  his  words  ?  there  is  more  hope  of  a  fool  than  of 
him."  Difficulties  disappear  when  met  calmly  and 
resolutely  ;  they  increase  with  ill-nature  and  anger. 
Keep  your  temper. 


TRUTH  AND  FALSEHOOD. 

'HE  abuse  which  you  pour  forth  on  me  will 
throw  no  light  on  our  controversy,  and  the 
menaces  with  which  you  assail  me  will  not 
hinder  me  from  defending  myself.  You  think  that 
you  have  force  and  impunity  on  your  side;  but  on 
mine  I  think  that  I  have  truth  and  innocence.  A 
strange  and  long  warfare  it  is,  when  violence  endeav- 
ors to  oppress  truth.  All  the  efforts  of  violence  can 
avail  nothing  to  weaken  truth,  and  serve  only  to  make 
it  supreme.  All  the  light  of  truth  can  avail  nothing  to 
arrest  violence,  and  only  provokes  it  the  more.  When 
force  combats  force,  the  stronger  destroys  the  weaker; 


83  SUCCESS  AND  HAPPINESS. 

when  arguments  are  opposed  to  arguments,  the  truer 
and  more  convincing  confound  and  scatter  those 
which  rest  only  on  vanity  and  falsehood;  but  violence 
and  truth  are  powerless  against  each  other.  Yet  think 
not  that  they  are  therefore  on  a  level.  Between  them 
is  this  absolute  difference,  that  the  course  of  violence 
is  limited  by  the  decree  of  God,  who  compels  it  to 
promote  the  glory  of  the  truth  which  it  attacks;  while 
truth  subsists  eternally,  and  finally  triumphs  over  its 
enemies,  because  it  is  eternal  and  strong  even  as  God 
himself. — Pascal. 

Truth  is  the  most  powerful  thing  in  the  world,  since 
fiction  can  only  please  us  by  its  resemblance  to  it. — 
Shaftesbury. 

Truth  is  its  own  evidence,  as  the  lightning  flash  is, 
as  the  blessed  sunshine  is. — F.  W.  Robertson. 


CHARACTERS. 

M  T  OOKING  over  all  the  varieties  of  character  with 

LJOI     I 

jL         a  view  to  classification,  we  find  that  some  are 


the  result  mainly  of  conditions  that  are  phys- 
ical. Mere  temperament  often  determines  the  whole 
complexion  of  a  life,  explaining  the  characteristic  dif- 


CHARACTERS.  84 

ferences  between  some  men  and  others.  One  man, 
owing  purely  to  physical  conditions,  is  morbid  and 
melancholy.  He  sees  everything  under  a  cloud.  He 
looks  naturally  at  the  dark  side  of  things.  If  you  take 
him  to  the  bright  side,  he  brings  a  shadow  with  him 
and  makes  this  side  as  gloomy  as  the  other.  Another 
man,  blessed  with  a  sanguine  temperament,  has  a 
fountain  of  cheerfulness  and  hope  within  him.  He 
looks  naturally  at  the  bright  side;  brightens  even  the 
dark  side,  when  he  comes  round  to  it,  by  his  own  sun- 
shine. Whatever  is  naturally  pleasant  he  rejoices  in. 
He  is  a  child  of  the  light.  Even  if  a  disaster  occur, 
he  is  glad  that  it  is  no  worse.  The  Dutchman  who 
fell  from  the  ladder  and  broke  his  leg,  and  expressed 
to  his  distracted  family  his  delight  that  it  was  not  his 
neck,  must  have  been  a  man  of  this  type.  Mr. 
Sanguine  to  every  cloud  sees  a  silver  lining.  If  you 
consult  him  in  misfortune,  he  says:  "You  will  soon  get 
over  it.  I'll  tell  you  what  to  do." 

The  gloomy  man,  on  the  other  hand,  says:  "I  told 
you  it  would  come  to  this,"  and  shakes  his  head  por- 
tentously, as  if  he  were  satisfied  that  this  is  only  the 
beginning  of  your  troubles.  To  Mr.  Croaker  even 
pleasure  is  poisoned  by  the  thought  of  how  soon  it 
may  be  taken  away.  If  he  finds  you  particularly 
jovial,  it  reminds  him  of  a  former  occasion,  on  which 
6 


85  SUCCESS  AND  HAPPINESS. 

just  such  merriment  was  interrupted  by  some  fearful 
intelligence.  He  hopes,  with  a  portentous  look,  that 
it  may  not  be  so  this  time  again. 

Mr.  Croaker  is  peculiarly  appropriate  at  a  funeral; 
but  woe  betide  the  picnic  or  wedding  party  to  which, 
in  a  moment  of  infatuation,  he  has  been  invited.  The 
only  hope  lies  in  Mr.  Sanguine  being  there  also.  Mr. 
Sanguine  is  always  a  refuge  and  wall  of  defense,  whom 
you  should  take  care  to  have  with  you  in  embarrassing 
circumstances  or  when  called  on  to  pass  through  some 
ordeal  like  that  of  having  to  inspect  and  give  your 
verdict  upon  your  friend's  first  baby.  If  you  are  sensi- 
tive, like  some  folk,  you  will  find  that  a  stiff  trial.  You 
go  to  the  inspection  aware,  of  course,  that  both  father 
and  mother  regard  this  baby  as  one  of  the  finest  that 
has  ever  been  born,  and  that  they  have  been  fortified 
in  this  conviction  by  the  doctor.  Now,  if  it  should 
tnrn  out  to  be  an  ugly  little  imp,  what  are  you  to  say  ? 
How  are  you  to  look  ?.  Have  Mr.  Sanguine  with  you  ? 
Mr.  Sanguine  will  see  something  to  admire  in  any 
baby  that  ever  was  born.  If  it  is  one  of  those  lively 
infants  that  seem  all  on  springs,  Mr.  Sanguine  will 
cry  :  "  What  a  fine  fellow  !  What  life  !  What  energy  !  " 
If  it  be  one  of  those  dull,  torpid  lumps  of  humanity 
that  glare  straight  forward  with  a  fishy  glare,  gorgon- 
izing  you  from  head  to  foot,  Mr.  Sanguine  will  exclaim, 


CHARACTERS.  86 

"  What  a  thoughtful  child  !  What  steadiness  !  What 
brain  !  "  If  the  child  had  been  born  with  a  leg  on  the 
top  of  its  head,  Mr.  Sanguine  would  instantly  have 
been  struck  with  the  advantage  this  would  give  it,  in 
the  event  of  it  tumbling  wrong  end  down. — Rev.  Davia 
Macrae. 

Character  has  many  ways  of  manifesting  itself',  and 
those  may  be  in  the  right  who  regard  a  man's  chirog- 
raphy  as  one  of  these.  Shelley,  in  one  of  his  letters, 
passes  judgment  upon  two  of  his  brother  poets,  with 
this  sort  of  testimony  in  view,  as  follows  :  "  The  hand- 
writing of  Ariosto  is  a  small,  firm,  and  pointed  char- 
acter, expressing,  as  I  should  say,  a  strong  and  keen, 
but  circumscribed  energy  of  mind ;  that  of  Tasso  is 
large,  free  and  flowing,  except  that  there  is  a  checked 
expression  in  the  midst  of  its  flow,  which  brings  the 
letters  into  a  smaller  compass  than  one  expected  from 
the  beginning  of  the  word.  It  is  the  symbol  of  an 
intense  and  earnest  mind,  exceeding  at  times  its  own 
depths,  and  admonished  to  return  by  the  chilliness  of 
the  waters  of  oblivion  striking  upon  its  adventurous 
feet."  It  may  be  well  for  us  all  to  remember  that 
there  are  more  open  doors  than  we  may  imagine, 
through  which  scrutinizing  eyes  look  in  upon  the 
secret  places  of  our  character. 


87  SUCCESS  AND  HAPPINESS. 

Men  seek  retreats  for  themselves — houses  in  the 
country,  sea-shores,  and  mountains;  and  thou,  too,  art 
wont  to  desire  such  things  very  much.  But  this  is 
altogether  a  work  of  the  most  common  men ;  for  it  is 
in  thy  power,  whenever  thou  shalt  choose,  to  retire  into 
thyself.  For  nowhere,  either  with  more  quiet  or  more 
freedom  from  trouble,  does  a  man  retire  than  into  his 
own  soul,  particularly  when  he  has  within  him  such 
thoughts,  that  by  looking  into  them  he  is  immediately 
in  perfect  tranquility.  And  I  affirm  that  tranquility  is 
nothing  else  than  the  good  ordering  of  the  mind. — 
"  Thoughts  "  of  the  Emperor  Marcus  Aurelius. 

We  are  all  sculptors  and  painters,  and  our  material 
is  our  own  flesh,  and  blood,  and  bones.  Any  noble- 
ness begins  at  once  to  refine  a  man's  features ;  any 
meanness  or  sensuality,  to  imbrute  them. —  Thoreau. 

As  a  storm  following  storm,  and  wave  succeeding 
wave,  give  additional  hardness  to  the  shell  that  incloses 
the  pearl,  so  do  the  storms  and  waves  of  life  add  force 
to  the  character  of  man. 

Feelings  come  and  go  like  light  troops  following  the 
victory  of  the  present;  but  principles,  like  troops  of 
the  line,  are  undisturbed  and  stand  fast. — Richter 


CHARACTERS.  88 

What  a  grand  power  is  the  power  of  thought !  And 
what  a  grand  being  is  man  when  he  uses  it  aright ; 
because,  after  all,  it  is  the  use  made  of  it  that  is  the 
important  thing.  Character  comes  out  of  thought ;  or 
rather  thought  comes  out  of  character.  The  particular 
thoughts  are  like  the  blossoms  on  the  trees ;  they  tell 
of  what  kind  it  is.  "  As  a  man  thinketh  in  his  heart, 
so  he  is." — Sir  W.  Raleigh. 

A  soul  immortal,  spending  all  her  fires, 

Wasting  her  strength  in  strenuous  idleness, 

Thrown  into  tumult,  raptured,  or  alarmed, 

At  aught  this  scene  can  threaten  or  indulge 

Resembles  ocean  into  tempest  wrought 

To  waft  a  feather,  or  to  drown  a  fly.  — YOUNG, 

The  heart  will  commonly  govern  the  head;  and  it 
is  certain  that  any  strong  passion,  set  the  wrong  way, 
will  soon  infatuate  even  the  wisest  of  men  ;  therefore 
the  first  part  of  wisdom  is  to  watch  the  affections. — 
Dr.  Waterland. 

Modesty  is  to  worth  what  shadows  are  in  a  painting ; 
she  gives  to  it  strength  and  relief. — La  Bruucre. 

Actions,  looks,  words,  steps,  form  the  alphabet  by 
which  you  may  spell  character. 


89  SUCCESS  AND  HAPPINESS. 

Every  man  stamps  his  value  on  himself.  The  price 
we  challenge  for  ourselves  is  given  us.  There  does 
not  live  on  earth  a  man,  be  his  station  what  it  may, 
that  I  despise  myself.  Man  is  made  great  or  little  by 
his  own  will. — Schiller. 

No  man  has  come  to  true  greatness  who  has  not  felt 
in  some  degree  that  his  life  belongs  to  his  race,  and 
what  God  gives  him  he  gives  him  for  mankind. — 
Phillips  Brooks. 

Character  is  like  bells  which  ring  out  sweet  music, 
and  which,  when  touched  accidentally  even,  resound 
sweetly. 

Men  seldom  improve  when  they  have  no  other 
models  than  themselves  to  copy  after. —  Goldsmith. 

You  can  not  dream  yourself  into  a  character ;  you 
must  hammer  and  forge  yourself  one. — Froudc. 

Never  does  a  man  portray  his  own  character  more 
vividly  than  in  his  manner  of  portraying  another's. 

The  key  to  every  man  is  his  thought.  Casual 
thoughts  are  sometimes  of  great  value. 


CHARACTERS.  90 

People  that  have  their  eyes  opened  will,  at  the  very 
least,  get  their  clothes  washed.  A  neat,  decent  dress 
is  often  an  early  sign  that  a  man  is  becoming  careful 
who  has  hitherto  been  reckless  ;  and  new  talk,  new 
tempers,  new  estimates  of  things,  are  garments  of  the 
spiritual  man,  that  show  he  has  become  a  new  man. 

Christianity  means  to  the  merchant  that  he  should 
be  honest ;  to  the  judge  it  means  that  he  should  be 
just ;  to  the  servant,  that  he  should  be  faithful ;  to  the 
school-boy,  that  he  should  be  diligent ;  to  the  street- 
sweeper,  that  he  should  sweep  clean  ;  to  every  worker, 
that  his  work  shall  be  well  done. 

Conscience  is  the  voice  of  the  soul;  the  passions 
are  the  voice  of  the  body. —  J.  J.  Rousseau. 

• 

Manner  is  one  of  the  greatest  engines  of  influence 
ever  given  to  man. — Sunday  Afternoon. 

Flattery  is  a  false  coin  which  has  circulation  only 
through  our  vanity. — La  Rochefoucauld. 

How  can  we  expect  a  harvest  of  thought  who  have 
not  had  a  seed-time  of  character? 


91  SUCCESS  AND  HAPPINESS. 

No  trait  of  character  is  rarer,  none  more  admirable, 
than  thoughtful  independence  of  the  opinions  of 
others  combined  with  a  sensitive  regard  to  the  feelings 
of  others. 


WISDOM  AND  GOODNESS. 

WOULD  be  good,  I  would  be  wise, 

For  all  men  should.     The  wise  man  saith, 
"Folly  is  sin,  and  sin  is  death." 

But  Fate  denies 

What  I  demand  for  boons  like  these, 
If  not  a  life,  yet  days  of  ease. 

Not  in  this  world  of  noise  and  care 

Is  Wisdom  won,  however  wooed; 

She  must  be  sought  in  solitude, 

With  thought  and  prayer  J 
She  will  not  hear  my  hasty  cries; 
I  have  no  leisure  to  be  wise  1 

Who  can  be  wise  that  can  not  fly 

These  empty  babblers,  loud  and  vain; 
To  whom  there  is  no  God  but  Gain  ? 
Alas!  not  I. 

But  this  dark  thought  will  still  intrude, 

There  needs  no  leisure  to  be  goodl 

Goodness  is  the  only  happiness. — Socrates. 


WISDOM  AND  GOODNESS.  92 

If  we  can  by  honest  effort  change  a  wayworn 
thought  to  a  manly  purpose,  encourage  the  halting 
mind  to  correct  views,  remove  all  prejudices,  enkindle 
chaste  desires,  and  strengthen  a  noble  purpose,  our 
efforts  in  life  shall  not  be  in  vain.  Feeble  our  efforts 
may  be,  as  the  breeze  that  kisses  the  mountain  summit, 
yet  it  may  be  the  morning  breath  that  shall  help  on  his 
mission  of  mercy,  virtue  and  usefulness,  some  waiting 
pilgrim. 

Whoever  sincerely  endeavors  to  do  all  the  good  he 
can  will  probably  do  much  more  than  he  imagines,  or 
will  ever  know  to  the  day  of  judgment,  when  the 
secrets  of  all  hearts  shall  be  manifest. 

Better  a  cheap  coffin  and  a  plain  funeral,  after  a 
useful,  unselfish  life,  than  a  grand  procession  and  a 
marble  mausoleum,  after  a  loveless,  selfish  life. 

To  do  good  to  men  is  the  great  work  of  life;  to 
make  them  true  Christians  is  the  greatest  good  we  can 
do  them. — Dr.  J.  W.  Alexander. 

If  a  man  have  love  in  his  heart,  he  may  talk  in 
broken  language,  but  it  will  be  eloquence  to  those  who 
listen. 


93  SUCCESS  AND  HAPPINESS. 

The  best  recipe  for  going  through  life  in  an  exquisite 
way  with  beautiful  manner,  is  to  feel  that  everybody, 
no  matter  how  rich  or  how  poor,  need  all  the  kindness 
they  can  get  from  others  in  the  world. 

There  is  as  much  greatness  of  mind  in  the  owing  of 
a  good  turn  as  in  the  doing  of  it,  and  we  must  no 
more  force  a  requital  out  of  season,  than  to  be  want- 
ing in  it. — Seneca. 

Liberality,  courtesy,  benevolence,  unselfishness,  un- 
der all  circumstances  and  toward  all  men — the'se  quali- 
ties are  to  the  world  what  the  linchpin  is  to  the  rolling 
chariot. 

To  return  good  for  good,  is  civil  courtesy;  evil  for 
evil,  malicious  policy;  evil  for  good,  hateful  ingrati- 
tude; good  for  evil,  true  Christian  charity. — Schlatter. 

Good  men  have  the  fewest  fears.  He  has  but  one 
who  fears  to  do  wrong.  He  has  a  thousand  who  has 
overcome  that  one. 

The  wisely  good  man  seeks  to  connect  others  with 
him,  by  the  influence  of  that  which  separates  him  from 
them. 


ENERGY  AND  COURAGE.  94 

A  cunning  man  is  never  a  firm  man,  but  an  honest 
man  is;  a  double-minded  man  is  always  unstable,  a 
man  of  faith  is  firm  as  a  rock;  honesty  is  faith  applied 
to  worldly  things,  and  faith  is  honesty  quickened  by 
the  Spirit  to  the  use  of  heavenly  things. — Edward 
Irving. 

To  fill  the  sphere  which  Providence  appoints  is  true 
wisdom;  to  discharge  trusts  faithfully  and  live  exalted 
ideas,  that  is  the  mission  of  good  men. 


ENERGY  AND  COURAGE. 

T NERGY  enables  a  man  to  force  his  way  through 
irksome  drudgery  and  dry  details,  and  carries 


him  onward  and  upward  in  every  station  in 
life.  It  accomplishes  more  than  genius.  Energy  of 
will  may  be  defined  to  be  the  very  central  power  of 
character  in  a  man — in  a  word,  it  is  the  Man  himself. 
True  hope  is  based  on  it — and  it  is  hope  that  gives  the 
real  perfume  to  life.  No  blessing  is  equal  to  the  pos- 
session of  a  stout  heart.  Charles  IX.,  of  Sweden, 
was  a  firm  believer  in  the  power  of  will,  even  in  a 
youth.  Laying  his  hand  on  the  head  of  his  youngest 
son,  when  engaged  upon  a  difficult  task,  he  exclaimed, 


95  SUCCESS  AND  HAPPINESS. 

"  He  shall  do  it!  he  shall  do  it!  "  Nothing  that  is  oi 
real  worth  can  be  achieved  without  courageous  work- 
ing. The  timid  and  hesitating  find  everything  impos- 
sible, chiefly  because  it  seems  so.  The  Scriptural 
injunction,  "  Whatsoever  thy  hand  findeth  to  do,  do  it 
with  all  thy  might,"  must  be  realized  if  you  wish  to 
succeed.  It  is  pluck,  tenacity,  and  determined  perse- 
verance which  wins  soldiers'  battles,  and,  indeed,  every 
battle.  It  is  the  one  neck  nearer  that  wins  the  race 
and  shows  the  blood;  it  is  the  one  march  more  that 
wins  the  campaign;  the  five  minutes'  more  persistent 
courage  that  wins  the  fight.  Though  your  force  be 
less  than  another's,  you  equal  and  out-master  your 
opponent  if  you  continue  it  longer  and  concentrate  it 
more.  The  reply  of  the  Spartan  father,  who  said  to 
his  son,  when  complaining  that  his  sword  was  too 
short,  "  Add  a  step  to  it,"  is  applicable  to  everything 
(n  life. — Smiles. 


FORCE  OF  PURPOSE. 

if  T  is  will — force  of  purpose — that  enables  a  man 
to  do  or  be  whatever  he  sets  his  mind  on  being 
or  doing.  No  one  ardently  wishes  to  be  sub- 
missive, patient,  modest,  or  liberal,  who  does  not 
become  what  he  wishes. 


FORCE  OF  PURPOSE.  96 

"  You  are  now  at  the  age,"  said  Lammenais  once, 
addressing  a  gay  youth,  "  at  which  a  decision  must  be 
formed  by  you;  a  little  later,  and  you  may  have  to 
groan  within  the  tomb  which  yourself  have  dug,  with- 
out the  power  of  rolling  away  the  stone.  That  which 
the  easiest  becomes  a  habit  in  us  is  the  will.  Learn 
then  to  will  strongly  and  decisively;  thus  fix  your  float- 
ting  life,  and  leave  it  no  longer  to  be  carried  hither 
and  thither,  like  a  withered  leaf,  by  every  wind  that 
blows." 

Buxton  held  the  conviction  that  a  young  man  might 
be  very  much  what  he  pleased,  provided  he  formed  a 
strong  resolution  and  held  to  it.  Writing  to  one  of  his 
own  sons,  he  once  said,  "  You  are  now  at  that  period 
of  life  in  which  you  must  make  a  turn  to  the  right  or 
the  left.  You  must  now  give  proofs  of  principle,  de- 
termination, and  strength  of  mind;  or  you  must  sink 
into  idleness,  and  acquire  the  habits  and  character  of 
a  desultory,  ineffective  young  man;  and  if  once  you 
fall  to  that  point,  you  will  find  it  no  easy  matter  to 
rise  again.  I  am  sure  that  a  young  man  may  be  very 
much  what  he  pleases.  In  my  own  case  it  was  so. 
Much  of  my  happiness,  and  all  my  pros- 
perity in  life,  have  resulted  from  the  change  I  made  at 
your  age.  If  you  seriously  resolve  to  be  energetic  and 
industrious,  depend  upon  it  that  you  will  for  your 


97  SUCCESS  AND  HAPPINESS. 

whole  life  have  reason  to  rejoice  that  you  were  wise 
enough  to  form  and  to  act  upon  that  determination." 
As  will,  considered  without  regard  to  direction,  is 
simply  constancy,  firmness,  perseverance,  it  will  be 
obvious  that  everything  depends  upon  right  direction 
and  motives.  Directed  towards  the  enjoyment  of  the 
senses,  the  strong  will  may  be  a  demon,  and  the  intel- 
lect merely  its  debased  slave;  but  directed  towards 
good,  the  strong  will  is  a  king,  and  the  intellect  is  then 
ihe  minister  of  man's  highest  well-being. 

"  Where  there  is  a  will  there  is  a  way,"  is  an  old  and 
true  saying.  He  who  resolves  upon  doing  a  thing,  by 
that  very  resolution  often  scales  the  barriers  to  it,  and 
secures  its  achievement. 

To  think  we  are  able,  is  almost  to  be  so — to 
determine  upon  attainment,  is  frequently  attain- 
ment itself.  Thus,  earnest  resolution  has  often  seemed 
to  have  about  it  almost  a  savor  of  omnipotence.  The 
strength  of  Suwarrow's  character  lay  in  his  power  of 
willing,  and,  like  most  resolute  persons,  he  preached  it 
up  as  a  system.  "  You  can  only  half  will,"  he  would 
say  to  people  who  failed.  Like  Richelieu  and  Napo- 
leon, he  would  have  the  word  "  impossible  "  banished 
from  the  dictionary.  "  I  don't  know,"  "  I  can't,"  and 
"  impossible,"  were  words  which  he  detested  above  all 
others.  "Learn!  Dol  Tryl  "  he  would  exclaim.  His 


PROMPTITUDE  AND  DECISION.  98 

biographer  has  said  of  him,  that  he  furnished  a  re- 
markable illustration  of  what  may  be  effected  by  the 
energetic  development  and  exercise  of  faculties,  the 
germs  of  which  at  least  are  in  every  human  heart. 


PROMPTITUDE  AND  DECISION. 

Y  NERGY  usually  displays  itself  in  promptitude 


and  decision.  When  Ledyard,  the  traveler, 
was  asked  by  the  African  Association  when  he 
would  be  ready  to  set  out  for  Africa,  he  promptly  an- 
swered, "  To-morrow  morning."  Blucher's  prompti- 
tude obtained  for  him  the  cognomen  of  "  Marshal 
Forwards "  throughout  the  Prussian  army.  When 
John  Jervis,  afterwards  Earl  St.  Vincent,  was  asked 
when  he  would  be  ready  to  join  his  ship,  he  replied, 
"  Directly."  And  when  Sir  Colin  Campbell,  appointed 
to  the  command  of  the  Indian  army,  was  asked  when 
he  could  set  out,  his  answer  was,  "  To-morrow  " — an 
earnest  of  his  subsequent  success.  For  it  is  rapid  de- 
cision, and  a  similar  promptitude  in  action,  such  as 
taking  instant  advantage  of  an  enemy's  mistakes,  that 
so  often  wins  battles.  "Every  moment  lost,"  said 
Napoleon,  "gives  an  opportunity  for  misfortune;' 
and  he  used  to  say  that  he  beat  the  Austrians  because 


99  SUCCESS  AND  HAPPINESS. 

they  never  knew  the  value  of  time ;  while  they 
dawdled,  he  overthrew  them.  In  many  positions  in 
life,  "  he  who  hesitates  is  lost."  Endeavor,  there- 
fore, to  be  prompt  and  decisive  in  answer  and  action. 
Lack  of  decision  has  been  the  ruin  of  thousands  of 
business  men;  while  they  considered,  others  acted, 
and  so  secured  the  advantage. 

Decision  of  character  is  the  one  bright,  golden 
apple,  which  every  young  man .  should  strive  in  the 
beginning  to  pluck  from  the  tree  of  life. — Foster. 

Deeds  always  overbalance,  and  downright  practice 
speaks  more  plainly  than  the  fairest  profession. 


RICHES  AND  REFINEMENT. 

"T  is  a  great  mistake  to  confound  riches  and  re- 
finement, just  as  it  is  a  great  mistake  to  fancy 
that  because  a  man  is  poor,  he  must  be  coarse 
and  vulgar.  Lord  Jefferies,  though  seated  in  the 
highest  tribunal  in  the  realm,  while  pouring  forth  his 
brutal  ribaldry,  was  a  vulgar  man  ;  and  a  very  vulgar 
man  was  Chancellor  Thurlow,  spouting  oaths  and 
obscenity  at  the  table  of  the  Prince  of  Wales.  Bu» 


THE  STRENGTH  OF  SILENCE.  100 

there  was  no  vulgarity  about  James  Ferguson,  though 
herding  sheep,  while  his  eye  watched  Arcturus  and  the 
Pleiades,  and  his  wistful  spirit  wandered  through  im- 
mensity ;  and,  though  seated  at  a  stocking  loom,  there 
was  no  vulgarity  in  the  youth  who  penned  "  The  Star 
of  Bethlehem ;  "  the  weaver  boy,  Henry  Kirkewhite, 
was  not  a  vulgar  lad. — James  Hamilton. 


THE  STRENGTH  OF  SILENCE. 

'HERE  is  a  mighty  power  in  silence,  and  silence 
is  frequently  an  evidence  of  power.  There 
are  many  men  so  weak  that  they  can  not  hold 
their  tongues,  or  keep  their  mouths  shut.  The  man 
who  offends  not  in  word  is  a  perfect  man,  able  to  bridle 
the  whole  body.  He  who  can  control  his  tongue,  can 
control  his  entire  nature.  Hence  silence  is  a  token  of 
power,  of  reserved  force.  He  who  knows  how  to  keep 
silence  knows  how  to  speak ;  and  often  his  silence  is 
more  impressive  than  his  speech.  "  Brilliant  flashes 
of  silence "  is  by  no  means  a  senseless  expression. 
How  often  have  we  seen  the  babble  of  the  foolish 
hushed  by  the  silent  glance  of  an  earnest  soul ;  how 
often  the  ribald  jest  or  scurrilous  word  has  died  upon 
the  lips  when  an  indignant  silence  was  the  only  reply 

7 


101  SUCCESS  AND  HAPPINESS. 

it  could  evoke.  That  man  or  that  woman  who  can 
stand  silent  amid  reproaches  and  accusations  and 
sneers  and  scoffs,  shows  a  degree  of  strength  and 
power  which  falls  not  to  the  lot  of  every  one. 

The  silent  accomplish  more  than  the  noisy.  The 
tail  of  the  rattlesnake  makes  all  the  noise,  but  the 
head  does  all  the  execution. 


CORRECT  SPEECH. 

[yOTHING  bespeaks  a  true  lady  and  gentleman 
or  well-bred  child  more  than  the  use  of  cor- 
rect language,  pure,  clean  speech.  Cultivate 
my  young  friends,  good  English  in  every-day  conver- 
sation. Unclean  speech  is  in  keeping  with  a  smutty 
face,  begrimed  hands,  and  soiled  clothes.  Strange, 
how  easy  and  almost  unconsciously  one  slides  into  a 
careless  slipshod  way  of  talking,  even  when  the  rules 
of  grammar  are  quite  familiar.  It  is  not  uncommon 
to  find  people  learned  in  all  the  rules  of  syntax  who 
apply  them  to  the  art  of  writing,  yet  habitually  talk 
incorrectly. 

Early  culture  and  association  with  refined  persons 
are  quite  essential  to  give  purity  to  speech  ;  but  if  one 


COARSENESS.  102 

has  been  unfortunately  deprived  of  these,  he  should 
continually  watch  his  words  till  he  gets  in  the  habit  of 
using  decent  English,  for  nothing  so  unmistakably 
marks  one  with  vulgarity,  no  matter  how  elegant  is  the 
outside  covering,  as  shabby,  low-born  speech. 


COARSENESS. 

NY  lack  of  refinement  in  one's  manner,  or  any 
incivility  in  one's  ordinary  personal  address, 
ought  certainly  to  be  a  matter  of  regret  to  the 
person  whose  daily  life  displays  such  a  defect.  But  it 
is  by  no  means  uncommon  for  men  and  women  to 
think,  or  to  pretend  they  think,  that  rudeness  of  man- 
ner and  neglect  of  the  courtesies  of  life  are  evidences 
of  a  strong  character;  and  that  a  coarse  and  uncivil 
habit  of  speech  is  an  admirable  proof  that  the  speaker 
is  a  "  plain,  blunt  man,"  who  is  above  shams  and  pre- 
tences. 

Now,  while  coarseness  may  exist  along  with  strength 
of  character  and  righteousness  of  life,  it  is  always  a 
Flemish  to  them,  and  never  a  help. 

Every  one  who  is  trying  to  lead  a  good  life,  should 
also  try  to  lead  a  winsome  and  courteous  life.  By 
abandoning  gentleness  of  disposition  and  graciousness 


103  SUCCESS  AND  HAPPINESS. 

of  word  and  deed,  he  throws  away  a  means  of  growth 
and  an  effective  weapon.  It  is  almost  always  a  grave 
mistake,  in  a  matter  of  manners,  or  in  any  other 
matter,  to  try  to  put  yourself  on  other  people's  level. 
If  you  are  trying  to  do  right,  the  chances  are  that,  by 
adopting  a  coarse  manner  of  speech  or  action,  you  will 
degrade  yourself,  and  will  fail  in  the  good  you  seek. 
Rude  and  rough  people  are  ready  to  excuse  themselves 
for  their  own  coarseness  ;  but,  after  all,  they  despise  it 
in  those  who  are  striving  to  instruct  and  help  them. 

Cleanness  and  brightness  and  winsomeness,  in 
thought  and  word  and  deed  and  manner  and  material 
surroundings,  are  always  ready  to  help  what  is  good. 
Coarseness  and  dinginess  and  ugliness  are  evils  that 
must  sometimes  be  endured,  but  ought  never  to  be 
defended  as  virtues  in  themselve' 


READY  MEN. 

EADY  MEN  are  generally  witty  men,  and  they 
are  almost  always  talkative  men.  What  Lord 
Bacon  said  two  hundred  years  ago  has  never 
been  contradicted.  Reading  makes  a  full  man,  con- 
ference a  ready  man,  and  writing  an  exact  man,  and 
accordingly,  the  nations  that  are  most  talkative  are 


READY  MEN.  104 

those  that  have  most  wit  and  most  readiness.  We 
count  Lamb  and  Thackeray  among  the  foremost  of  our 
humorists;  but  poor  Elia,  though  matchless  in  the  say- 
ing of  good  things,  could  rarely  get  them  out  fast,  and 
Thackeray  himself  says  that  he  thought  of  his  own 
generally  when  he  was  in  bed.  With  all  his  taste  for 
society,  he  could  never  make  a  good  after-dinner 
speech,  and  often  envied  Dickens  his  rare  and  valuable 
faculty.  And  yet  he  did  in  his  life  say  some  very  good 
things.  When  he  paid  his  first  visit  to  America  it  was 
known  of  him  that  he  was  very  fond  of  oysters,  and, 
at  a  dinner  given  in  his  honor,  the  largest  oyster  that 
the  place  provided — quite  an  abnormal  oyster,  in 
point  of  size — was  placed  before  him.  He  said  him- 
self that  he  turned  pale  when  he  saw  it,  but  that  he  ate 
it  in  silence.  His  host  asked  him  how  he  felt  after, 
"  Profoundly  thankful,"  said  Thackeray;  "  I  feel  as  if 
I  had  swallowed  a  baby." 

The  rarest  recorded  instance  of  readiness  was  un- 
doubtedly that  of  Foote,  the  comedian.  He  had  given 
offence  to  a  famous  duellist  of  the  day,  who  had  vowed 
vengeance,  and  was  only  waiting  to.  meet  the  luckless 
actor.  Foote  was  told  of  it,  and  kept  out  of  his  way 
for  a  long  time.  At  last  they  met  at  an  inn  where 
the  actor  generally  dined,  and  where  the  duellist  hap- 
pened quite  casually  to  come  in.  Foote  saw  his  dan- 


105  SUCCESS  AND  HAPPINESS. 

ger  when  it  was  too  late;  but,  as  his  enemy  said  noth- 
ing, did  his  best  to   entertain  him  and  keep  him  in 
good  humor.     No  one  could  be  more  diverting  when 
he  choose,  and  here  he  was  not  only  very  anxious  but 
very  successful.    He  told  one  story  after  another.    He 
kept  the  table  in  a  roar.     The  fire-eater  became  quite 
pacific,  and  was  delighted  with  his  new  friend.    Foote 
passed  from  one  good  story  to  another,  and  at  last  took 
to  imitating  different  people,  a  practice  for  which  he 
had  extraordinary  facility.    The  other  guests  got  quite 
uproarious  with  the  fun,  when   suddenly  the  luckless 
actor  saw  irom  the  face  of  his  enemy  that  he  had  in- 
advertently imitated  one  of  his  friends.     The  duellist 
was,  in  fact,  putting  his  hand  in  his  pocket  to  pull  out 
&  card  and  present  it  as  the  preliminary  to  a  challenge, 
when  he  turned  round  to  the  mimic  and  said  in  a  dry, 
satiric  voice,  "  Really,  Mr.  Foote,  you  are  so  uncom- 
monly clever   in   taking  other  people  off,  I  wonder 
whether  you  could  take  yourself  off."  "  Oh,  certainly," 
said  Foote,  and  he  walked  straightway  into  the  street. 
Here  his  readiness,  probably,  saved  him  his  life. 

It  is  noticeable  how  the  characters  of  mind  and 
body  correspond,  and  how  the  ready  man  is  generally 
quick  in  his  movements,  prompt  in  action  and  fertile 
in  resource.  The  great  Napoleon  used  to  say  that  no 
quality  was  so  rare  or  so  valuable  as  (what  he  called) 


TIMELY  JESTS.         .  106 

two-o'clock-in-the-morning  courage.  The  power  of 
suddenly  changing  front  and  altering  the  whole  scheme 
of  a  campaign  was  precisely  what  the  greatest  of  all 
modern  strategists  would  admire.  He  himself  emin- 
ently possessed  it.  The  man  who  had  the  wit  to  say 
to  the  aristocrat  who  taunted  him  with  his  lack  of 
ancestry,  "  Moi,je  suis  ancetre"  possessed  a  readiness 
of  words  as  well  as  of  action.  He  was  not  likely  to 
lose  either  his  head  or  his  tongue.  But  this  kind  of 
promptitude  is  rarely  coupled  with  staying  power.  It 
is  distinctly  meteoric,  and  part  of  the  brilliancy  is  due 
to  the  gloom  which  follows  it.  And,  therefore,  the 
nations  who  most  possess  it  are  also  purposeless,  and 
without  reserve  of  force. 


TIMELY  JESTS. 

'ANY  a  promotion  has  been  secured  by  a 
timely  jest.  The  New  York  Times  relates 
several  of  these  happy  "  hits:  " 
Marshal  Junot,  while  still  a  young  subaltern,  attract- 
ed the  attention  of  the  commander-in-chief  by  coolly 
observing,  as  an  Austrian  shell  scattered  earth  over 
the  despatch  which  he  was  writing,  at  the  latter's 
dictation,  "  It's  very  kind  of  them  to  'sand*  our  letters 
for  us." 


107  SUCCESS  AND  HAPPINESS. 

The  traditions  of  the  English  navy  have  preserved 
another  instance  of  the  kind  well  worth  quoting. 
When  the  Duke  of  Clarence,  afterward  William  IV., 
went  down  to  Portsmouth  to  inspect  the  British 
Seventy-fours,  the  guide  allotted  to  him  was  a  battered 
old  lieutenant  with  one  eye,  who,  lacking  a  "  friend  at 
court,"  had  served  for  years  without  promotion. 

As  the  veteran  removed  his  hat  to  salute  the  royal 
visitor,  the  latter  remarked  his  baldness,  and  said, 
jestingly,  "  I  see  my  friend,  you  have  not  spared  your 
hair  in  your  country's  service." 

"  Why,  your  Royal  Highness,"  answered  the  old 
salt,  "  so  many  young  fellows  have  stepped  over  my 
head  that  it's  a  wonder  I  have  got  any  hair  left." 

The  duke  laughed  loudly  at  this  professional  joke, 
but  he  made  a  note  of  the  old  man's  name  at  the  same 
time,  and  a  few  days  after  the  latter  received  his  ap- 
pointment as  captam. 


THE  STEADY  AND  SOBER  SUCCEED. 

OWEVER  nrach  people  may  propound  to  the 
contrary,  the  steady  and  sober  men  are  to 
rise  and  be  respected,  while  the  dissolute  and 
disorderly  must  sink  and  disappear.  And  though  there' 
is  in  many  quarters  a  prejudice  against  piety — though 


COURAGE  IN  SICKNESS.  108 

some  employers  prefer  workmen  with  easy  principles 
and  pliant  consciences — no  business  can  long  prosper 
without  probity,  and  no  employer  can  become  perma- 
nently rich  with  rogues  for  his  servants.  Hence,  in  all 
extensive  and  protracted  undertakings,  principle  will 
undoubtedly  win  for  itself  an  eventual  preference;  and 
the  workman  who  understands  his  trade  and  keeps  his 
character,  may  not  only  expect  to  keep  his  place,  but 
perhaps  become  one  day  a  partner  in  the  establish- 
ment. If  you  won't  tell  a  falsehood  for  your  employer, 
neither  will  you  waste  his  materials  nor  pilfer  his 

property.     And  if  you   are  not  a  sycophant  in   the 

• 

slackest  times,  you  will  not  be  sauciest  in  the  busiest ; 
but,  seeking  first  to  please  your  Master  in  Heaven,  you 
will  find  yourself  rewarded  with  the  goodwill  and  con- 
fidence of  your  superiors  on  earth. — Hamilton. 


COURAGE  IN  SICKNESS. 

'HE  London  Lancet,  in  a  few  words  of  good 
advice  to  sick  people,  says  :  "  With  the  aid  or 
under  the  influence  of  pluck,  and  using  that 
term  in  a  modern  sense,  and  in  relation  to  the  daily 
heroism  of  life  in  the  midst  of 'difficulties,  it  is  possible 
not  only  to  surmount  what  appear  to  be  insuperable 


109  SUCCESS  AND  HAPPINESS. 

obstructions,  but  to  defy  and  repel  the  ennuities  of 
climate,  adverse  circumstances,  and  even  disease. 
Many  a  life  has  been  saved  by  the  moral  courage  of  a 
sufferer.  It  is  not  alone  in  bearing  the  pain  of  opera- 
tions or  the  misery  of  confinement  in  a  sick-room,  this 
self-help  becomes  of  vital  moment,  but  in  the  monoto- 
nous tracking  of  a  weary  path,  and  the  vigorous  dis- 
charge of  ordinary  duty.  How  many  a  victim  of 
incurable  disease  has  lived  on  through  years  of  suffer- 
ing, patiently  and  resolutely  hoping  against  hope,  or, 
what  is  better,  living  down  despair,  until  the  virulence 
of  a  threatening  malady  has  died  out,  and  it  has 
ceased  to  he  destructive,  although  its  physical  charac- 
teristics remained  ? 

"This  power  of  'good  spirits'  is  a  matter  of, high 
moment  to  the  sick  and  weakly.  To  the  former  it 
may  mean  the  ability  to  survive ;  to  the  latter,  the 
possibility  of  outliving,  or  living  in  spite  of,  a  disease. 
It  is,  therefore,  of  the  greatest  importance  to  cultivate 
the  highest  and  most  buoyant  frame  of  mind  which 
the  conditions  will  admit.  The  same  energy  which 
takes  the  form  of  mental  activity  is  vital  to  the  work 
of  the  organism.  Mental  influences  affect  the  system, 
and  a  joyous  spirit  not  only  relieves  pain,  but  increases 
the  momentum  of  life  in  the  body. 

"The  multitude  of  healthy  persons  who  wear  out 


HOW  TO  READ.  110 

their  strength  by  exhaustive  journeys  and  perpetual 
anxieties  for  health  is  very  great,  and  the  policy  in 
which  they  indulge  is  exceedingly  short-sighted.  Most 
of  the  sorrowful  and  worried  cripples  who  drag  out 
miserable  lives  in  this  way,  would  be  less  wretched  and 
live  longer  if  they  were  more  hopeful.  It  is  useless  to 
expect  that  anyone  can  be  reasoned  into  a  lighter 
frame  of  mind,  but  it  is  desirable  that  all  should  be 
taught  to  understand  the  sustaining,  and  often  even 
curative  power  of  '  good  spirits.'  " 


HOW  TO  READ. 

answer  to  the  question,  How  a  young  man  shall 
read  to  the  best  advantage? — he  should  select 
some  particular  department  of  knowledge  which 
he  feels  interesting,  and  within  this  department  he 
should  read  carefully  and  studiously.  If  he  only  once 
make  this  selection,  and  make  it  rightly,  other  things 
will  adjust  themselves.  He  will  not  need  very  definite 
rules,  nor  will  he  need  to  concern  himself  about  strict 
conformity  with  what  rules  he  may  have.  The  varied 
and  desultory  reading  in  which  he  may  indulge  will 
adapt  itself  in  various  ways  to  the  main  intellectual 
interest  of  his  life.  It  will  appropriate  to  its  purpose 


Ill  SUCCESS  AND  HAPPINESS. 

the  most  stray  information,  while  again  the  vivid 
central  fire  of  his  intellectual  being  will  cast  a  light 
and  meaning  often  around  the  most  desultory  par- 
ticulars. 

It  may  not  seem  easy  to  make  such  a  choice;  but 
every  one  more  or  less  unconsciously  makes  it.  The 
important  matter  is  to  recognize  it  to  yourselves,  and 
to  buildup  your  intellectual  education  upon  it;  because 
it  can  be  really  built  up  in  no  other  manner.  It  is 
only  by  studying  some  particular  subject  with  a  view 
to  mastering  it,  or  some  parts  of  it,  that  you  can  ever 
acquire  a  really  studious  insight  and  power.  Nothing 
will  enable  you  to  realize  your  mental  gifts,  and  to  feel 
yourselves  in  the  free  and  useful  possession  of  them, 
like  the  triumph  of  bringing  within  your  power  and 
making  your  own  some  special  subject. — Abridged 
from  Tulloch. 


•  WHAT  TO  READ. 

'OME  books  are  to  be  tasted,  others  to  be  swal- 
lowed, and  some  few  to  be  chewed  and  di- 
gested. 

If  this  was  true  in  Lord  Bacon's  time,  how  much 
more  so  is  it  in  a  time  like  ours,  when  books  have 
multiplied  beyond  all  precedent  in  the  world's  history. 


WHAT  TO  READ.  112 

It  has  become,  in  fact,  a  task  beyond  the  power  of  any 
man  to  keep  up,  as  it  is  said,  with  the  rapidly-accumu- 
lating productions  of  literature,  in  all  its  branches. 
To  enter  a  vast  library,  or  even  on®  of  comparatively 
modest  dimensions,  such  as  all  our  large  towns  may 
boast,  and  survey  the  closely-packed  shelves — the 
octavos  rising  above  quartos,  and  duodecimos  above 
both — is  apt  to  fill  the  mind  with  a  sense  of  oppression 
at  the  mere  physical  impossibility  of  ever  coming  in 
contact  with  such  multiplied  sources  of  knowledge. 
The  old  thought,  Ars  longa,  vita  brevis,  comes  home 
with  a  sort  of  sigh  to  the  mind.  Many  lives  would  be 
wasted  in  the  vain  attempt.  The  inspection  of  a  large 
library  certainly  cannot  be  recommended  to  inspire 
literary  ambition.  The  names  that  shine  in  the  hori- 
zon of  fame  are  but  specks  amid  the  innumerable  un- 
known that  look  down  from  the  same  eminence  of 
repose. 

Lord  Macaulay  has  spoken  especially  of  an  "  emi- 
nent soldier  and  distinguished  diplomatist  who  has 
enjoyed  the  confidence  of  the  first  generals  and  states- 
men which  Europe  has  produced  in  our  day,"  and  who 
confessed  that  his  success  in  life  was  mainly  owing  to 
his  advantageous  position  when  a  young  man,  in  the 
vicinity  of  a  library.  "  When  I  asked  to  what  he  owed 
his  accomplishments  and  success,  he  said  to  me, 


113  SUCCESS  AND  HAPPINESS. 

'When  I  served  when  a  young  man  in  India — when  it 
was  the  turning-point  in  my  life — when  it  was  a  mere 
chance  whether  I  should  become  a  mere  card-playing, 
hooka-smoking  lounger — I  was  fortunately  quartered 
for  two  years  in  the  neighborhood  of  an  excellent 
library,  which  was  made  accessible  to  me.'  " 

The  influence  of  books  at  a  certain  stage  of  life  is 
more  than  can  be  well  estimated.  The  principles 
which  they  inculcate,  the  lessons  which  they  exhibit, 
the  ideals  of  life  and  character  which  they  portray, 
root  themselves  in  the  thoughts  and  imaginations  of 
young  men.  They  seize  them  with  a  force  which  to 
after  years  appears  scarcely  possible.  And  when  their 
faculties  in  mere  restlessness  might  consume  them- 
selves in  riotous  frivolity  and  self-indulgence,  they 
often  receive  in  communion  with  some  true  and  earn- 
est book  a  right  impulse  which  turns  them  to  safety, 
happiness  and  honor. 

The  task  of  selection  perhaps  might  be  fairly  left  to 
individual  taste  and  judgment. 

Books  may   be  classified  conveniently  enough   in 
four  divisions: 

1.  Philosophical  and  Theological. 

2.  Historical. 

3.  Scientific. 

4.  Books  of  Poetry  and  Fiction. 


WHAT  TO  READ.  114 

The  young  man  in  the  full  flush  of  his  opening 
powers  is  naturally  drawn  to  the  examination  and  dis- 
cussion of  the  highest  problems  that  concern  his 
being  and  happiness.  There  is  a  sanguine  daring  of 
speculation  in  the  fresh  and  inexperienced  mind 
which  dashes  at  questions  before  which  the  veteran 
philosopher,  warned  by  many  defeats,  sadly  recoils. 
It  may  be  often  very  useless  in  its  results  this  youth- 
ful speculation,  but,  if  not  altogether  misdirected,  it 
may  prove  the  most  precious  training.  The  mind 
rises,  from  its  very  defeats  in  such  service,  more 
vigorous  and  more  elastic. 

The  great  work  of  Locke  on  the  "  Human  Under- 
standing," every  young  man  who  has  a  love  for  specu- 
lation, ought  to  study;  at  any  rate,  he  should  master 
his  small  work  on  the  "  Conduct  of  the  Understand- 
ing; "  and  to  make  even  this  little  treatise  his  own 
thoroughly,  and  enter  into  all  its  meaning,  he  will  find 
a  most  bracing  and  wholesome  mental  exercise. 

A  knowledge  of  theological  literature  is  the  busi- 
ness of  the  professed  theologian.  It  can  only  be  pos- 
sible to  others  in  rare  circumstances.  But  every 
thinking  man  should  know  something  of  theology, 
and  there  are  young  minds  that  will  by  an  irresistible 
impulse  seek  their  main  intellectual  discipline  in  the 
reading  of  theological  authors: 


115  SUCCESS  AND  HAPPINESS. 

There  are  three  great  writers,  each  marking  a  cen- 
tury, we  may  say,  of  our  past  English  theology,  that 
may  be  very  confidently  recommended  to  the  study  oi 
young  men.  These  writers  are  Butler,  Leighton,  and 
Hooker.  Butler,  a  master  of  theological  argument, 
strong  in  logic,  calm  in  spirit,  comprehensive  in  aim. 
Leighton,  like  Pascal,  a  genius  in  religious  meditation, 
deep,  reflective,  yet  quick,  sensitive,  and  tender — the 

i 

beau-ideal  of  a  Christian  muser;  never  losing  hold  of 
the  most  practical  duties  in  the  most  ethereal  flights 
of  his  quaint  and  holy  imagination.  Hooker,  a 
thinker  of  transcending  compass,  sweeping  in  the 
range  of  his  imperial  mind  the  whole  circumference  of 
Christian  speculation — rising  with  the  wings  of  bold- 
ness to  the  heights  of  the  Divine  government,  and  yet 
folding  them  with  the  sweetest  reverence  before  the 
Throne.  There  are  many  other  great  names  in  Eng- 
lish theological  literature,  but  there  are  none  greater 
than  these. 

Every  young  man  should  give  his  earnest  attention 
to  the  reading  of  Scripture.  Let  him  not  suppose  that 
he  can  easily  know  all  that  it  contains.  Let  him  not 
be  contented  to  read  a  chapter  now  and  then,  rather 
as  a  duty  than  as  a  living  interest  and  education.  No 
reading  should  be  so  interesting  to  him  ;  none,  cer- 
tainly, can  form  to  him  so  high  an  education.  It  is 


WJIAT  TU   READ.  116 

not  only  his  Christian  intelligence  and  sensibility  that 
will  be  everywhere  drawn  forth  in  the  perusal  of  its 
blessed  pages,  but  his  taste,  his  imagination  and  reason 
will  be  exercised  and  regaled  in  the  highest  degree. 
Its  poetry  is,  beyond  all  other  poetry,  incomparable, 
not  only  in  the  height  of  its  Divine  arguments,  as 
Milton  suggests,  but  in  "  the  very  critical  art  of  com- 
position." Its  narratives  are  models  of  simplicity  and 
graphic  life.  It  abounds  in  almost  every  species  of 
literary  excellence  and  intellectual  sublimity.  It  is, 
above  all,  the  inspired  Word  of  God — the  source  of  all 
spiritual  truth  and  illumination.  Whatever  you  read, 
therefore,  do  not  forget  to  read  the  Bible.  Let  it  be 
as  the  "  man  of  your  counsel,  and  the  guide  of  your 
right  hand,"  as  a  "  light  to  your  feet,  and  a  lantern  to 
your  path."  "The  law  of  the  Lord  is  perfect,  con- 
verting the  soul ;  the  testimony  of  the  Lord  is  sure, 
making  wise  the  simple ;  the  statutes  of  the  Lord  are 
right,  rejoicing  the  heart;  the  commandment  of  the 
Lord  is  pure,  enlightening  the  eyes."  "  Wherewithal 
shall  a  young  man  cleanse  his  way  ?  By  taking  heed 
thereto  according  to  thy  word." 

Of  the  many  great  historical  works   which   our  age 
has  produced,  there  are  some  so  popular  and  univer- 
sally read   that  it  is   needless   to   recommend   them. 
Macaulav's   wonderful  volumes,  as  they  successively 
8 


117  SUCCESS  AND  HAPPINESS. 

appeared,  carried    captive    the    minds    of   old    and 
young. 

The  works  of  Hallam,  of  Thirlwall  and  Grote,  of 
Milman  and  Prescott,  of  Froude  and  of  Motley,  show 
in  their  mere  enumeration  what  a  field  lies  before  the 
student  here.  The  careful  study  of  any  one  of  these 
histories  is  an  education  in  itself;  and  there  is  no 
mental  task  could  be  recommended  as  more  appro- 
priate and  more  valuable  to  the  young  man.  To  read 
them  as  a  whole  is  never  an  easy  matter ;  and  it  will 
be  found,  in  point  of  fact,  they  are  but  rarely  read 
and  studied  so  completely  as  they  ought  to  be.  The 
young  man  cannot  brace  himself  to  any  higher  effort, 
or  one  more  likely  to  tell  upon  his  whole  intellectual 
life.  The  study  of  such  works  as  we  have  mentioned, 
or  of  many  others  that  might  be  mentioned — Claren- 
don's graphic  pages — Gibbon's  magnificent  drama — 
may  serve  to  date  an  epoch  in  his  educational  devel- 
opment. Many  can  recall  how  the  perusal  of  such  a 
masterpiece  as  Gibbon's  "  Decline  and  Fall  of  the 
Roman  Empire "  served  to  raise  the  conception  of 
what  the  human  mind  could  do,  and  left  an  indelible 
impress  on  the  intellectual  character. 

In  studying  such  works  the  aim  should  be  to  master 
them,  and  if  possible  their  subject,  so  thoroughly  as 
to  be  able  to  exercise  a  free  judgment  as  to  what  you 


WHAT  TO  READ.  118 

read.  To  read  merely  that  you  may  repeat  the  views 
of  the  historian,  or  perhaps  imbibe  his  prejudices,  is 
a  poor  and  even  an  injurious  result.  You  must  read 
rather  that  you  may  understand  his  subject;  and  if  he 
is  really  a  great  historian,  he  will  enable  you  to  do 
this  to  some  extent  independently  of  his  own  repre- 
sentations. Using  his  pages,  you  must  yet  look 
through  them,  and  endeavor  to  realize  the  course  of 
facts  for  yourself.  Especially  aim,  by  an  active  sym- 
pathy and  intelligent  perception  of  what  is  going  on 
around  you — of  the  history  that  is  being  daily  wrought 
out  under  your  eyes  and  in  your  own  experience — to 
get  some  living  apprehension  of  the  past,  some  real 
understanding  of  its  great  events  and  characters,  its 
social  manners,  its  laws,  institutions,  and  modes  of 
government,  the  condition  of  the  people  in  their  dif- 
ferent ranks  and  relations,  the  interior  of  their  family 
life,  their  diet,  their  industry,  and  their  amusements. 
It  is  but  recently  that  historians  have  recognized  the 
necessity  of  treating  some  of  these  topics,  but  it  is 
becoming  more  and  more  evident  that  it  is  such  topics, 
and  not  the  mere  details  of  battles  or  of  royal  doings, 
that  form  the  real  staple  of  history.  Whatever  con- 
tributes to  unveil  the  past,  to  make  it  an  intelligible 
reality  and  not  a  mere  shadowy  picture,  is  the  right 
material  of  history;  and  its  highest  use  is  to  give  such 


119  SUCCESS  AND  HAPPINESS. 

an  insight  into  the  past  as  may  happily  guide  and 
influence  the  future. 

Of  all  departments  of  knowledge,  indeed,  that  of 
popular  science  may  be  said  to  be  making  the  most 
advance. 

Sir  John  Herschel,  Sir  David  Brewster,  Hugh  Millei, 
Mr.  Lewes,  Mr.  Hunt,  and  others,  have  all  written  of 
science  so  as  to  interest  any  but  the  most  indifferent 
minds.  And  the  young  student  who  would  follow  ou' 
stich  studies  will  find  in  the  writings  of  these  well- 
known  authors  at  once  their  plainest  and  their  highest 
guides.  Such  works  as  those  of  Hugh  Miller  on 
geology,  and  Mr.  Lewes's  "  Sea-side  Studies,"  and 
Professor  Johnston's  "  Chemistry  of  Common  Life," 
and  Mr.  Faraday's  "  Lectures  for  the  Young,"  not  to 
mention  others,  show  how  numerously  books  lie  to  his 
hand  in  this  department  of  study. 

In  such  studies  let  it  be  your  aim  not  merely  to 
accumulate  facts,  nor  store  your  memories  with  details, 
but  also  to  grasp  principles.  It  is  from  lack  of  doing 

• 

this  that  many  minds  turn  away  in  weariness  fro*a 
scientific  pursuits. 

Youthful  study  advances  under  a  spur  of  poet.c 
enthusiasm  more  than  anything  else.  Carry  this 
enthusiasm  with  you  into  the  study  of  nature.  Learn 
to  appreciate  i*«  beauties,  to  admire  its  harmonies,  as 


WHAT  TO  READ.  120 

you  explore  its  secrets.  This  is  surely  the  natural 
result  that  should  follow  an  increased  acquaintance 
with  scientific  facts.  The  more  nature  is  studied,  the 
more  should  all  its  poetry  appear. 

Books  of  Poetry  and  Fiction  are  the  last  class  that 
we  have  enunciated.  In  many  respects  they  are  the 
most  important. 

Looking  to  the  moral  effect  of  our  modern  poetry 
and  fiction  upon  the  young,  there  is  nothing  more  de- 
serving of  commendation  than  the  increased  spirit  of 
human  sympathy  for  which  they  are  remarkable.  The 
literature  of  the  last  age  was  especially  defective  in 
this  respect.  It  lacked  genial  tenderness  or  earnest 
sympathy  for  human  suffering  and  wrong.  Its  very 

* 

pathos  was  hard  and  artificial.  It  wept  over  imaginary 
sorrows ;  it  rejoiced  in  merely  sentimental  triumphs. 
In  contrast  to  this,  the  poetry  and  fiction  of  our  time 
concern  themselves  closely  with  the  common  sorrows 
and  joys  of  the  human  heart.  The  pages  of  Dickens 
and  Kingsley,  and  Miss  Mulock  and  Mrs.  Gaskell,  and 
Mrs.  Oliphant  and  George  Eliot,  are  all  intensely  real- 
istic. A  deep-thoughted  tenderness  for  human  mis- 
eries, and  a  high  aspiration  after  human  improvement, 
animate  all  of  them.  It  is  impossible  to  read  their 
novels  without  having  our  moral  sentiments  acutely 
touched  and  drawn  forth.  The  same  is  eminently  true 


121  SUCCESS  AND  HAPPINESS. 

of  the  poetry  of  Mr.  Tennyson,  Mrs.  Browning,  and 
others.  It  is  almost  more  than  anything  characterized 
by  a  spirit  of  impassioned  philanthropy,  of  intense 
yearning  over  worldly  wrong  and  error,  "ancient 
forms  of  party  strife,"  and  of  lofty  longing  after  a 
higher  good  than  the  world  has  yet  known — 

"  Sweeter  manners,  purer  laws, 
The  larger  heart,  the  kindlier  hand." 

It  is  impossible  for  the  young  to  love  such  poetry  and 
to  study  it  without  a  kindling  in  them  of  something  of 
the  same  affectionate  interest  in  human  welfare  and 
aspiration  after  human  improvement. 

Of  course,  they  will  read  what  is  most  popular  and 
interesting.  There  is  one  writer,  however,  neither  a 
poet  nor  a  novelist,  and  yet  in  some  respects  both, 
whom  we  feel  urged  to  commend  to  their  study — the 
author  of  "  Friends  in  Council,"  "  Essays  written  in 
the  Intervals  of  Business,"  and  "  Companions  of  my 
Solitude,"  etc.  These  volumes  are  charming,  at  once 
for  their  literary  finish,  their  genial  earnestness,  and 
their  thoughtful,  ethical  spirit. 

We  should  further  urge  upon  young  men  the  neces- 
sity of  extending  their  studies  in  the  lighter  depart- 
ments of  literature  beyond  their  own  age.  They  must 
aind  will  reap  mainly,  as  we  have  supposed,  the  fiction 
And  poetry  of  their  time,  but  in  order  to  get  any 


WHAT  TO  READ.  J22 

adequate  culture  from  this  sort  of  reading  they  must 
do  something  more.  They  must  study  English  poetry 
in  its  successive  epochs,  ascending  by  such  stages  as 
are  represented  by  the  great  names  of  Wordsworth, 
and  Cowper,  and  Dryden,  and  Milton,  and  Shak- 
speare,  and  Spenser.  To  study  thoroughly  the  great 
works  of  any  of  these  poets,  especially  of  Wordsworth, 
or  Milton,  or  Shakspeare,  or  Spenser,  is  a  lasting  edu- 
cational gain.  Any  youth  w,ho  spends  his  leisure  over 
the  pages  of  the  "  Excursion,"  or  the  "  Paradise  Lost," 
or  the  "  Fairy  Queen,"  or  the  higher  dramas  of  Shak- 
speare, is  engaged  in  an  important  course  of  intellec- 
tual discipline.  And  if  you  would  wish  to  know  the 
charms  of  literary  delight  in  their  full  freedom  and 
acquisition,  you  must  have  often  recourse  to  these 
great  lights  of  literature,  and  seek  to  kindle  your  love 
for  "  whatsoever  hath  passion  or  admiration  "  at  the 
flame  of  their  genius. 

Altogether  it  is  evident  what  a  wide  field  of  study  is 
before  every  young  man  who  loves  books,  and  would 
seek  to  improve  himself  by  their  study.  The  field  is 
only  too  wide  and  varied,  were  it  not  that  different 
tastes  will  seek  different  parts  of  it,  and  leave  the  rest 
comparatively  alone.  Whatever  part  you  may  select, 
devote  yourself  to  it.  If  history,  or  science,  or  belles 
lettres  be  your  delight,  read  with  a  view  not  merely  to 


123  SUCCESS  AND  HAPPINESS. 

pass  the  time,  but  really  to  cultivate  and  advance  your 
intellectual  life.  The  mere  dilettante  will  never  come 
to  anything.  Read  whatever  you  read  with  enthu- 
siasm, with  a  generous  yet  critical  sympathy.  Make 
it  your  own.  Take  it  up  by  lively  and  intelligent 
application  at  every  point  into  your  own  mental 
system,  and  assimilate  it.  An  active  interest  is  a  con- 
dition of  all  mental  improvement.  The  mind  only 
expands  or  strengthens  when  it  is  fairly  awakened. 
Give  to  all  your  reading  an  awakened  attention,  a 
mind  alive  and  hungering  after  knowledge,  and  whether 

• 

you  read  history,  or  poetry,  or  science,  or  theology,  or 
even  fiction  of  a  worthy  kind,  it  will  prove  to  you  a 
mental  discipline,  and  bring  you  increase  of  wisdom. 
— Abridged  from  Tulloch. 


M 

I 


HOW  TO  ENJOY. 

life  that  is  at  all  healthy  and  happy  must 
have  its  enjoyments  as  well  as  its  duties.     It 


cannot  bear  the  constant  strain  of  grave  occu- 
pation without  losing  something  of  its  vitality  and 
sinking  into  feebleness.  Asceticism  may  have  construed 
life  as  an  unceasing  routine  of  duty — of  work  done  for 
some  grave  or  solemn  purpose  But  asceticism  has 


HOW  TO  ENJOY.  124 

neither  produced  the  best  work  nor  the  noblest  lives 
of  which  our  world  can  boast.  In  its  effort  to  elevate 
human  nature,  it  has  risen  at  the  highest  to  a  barren 
grandeur.  It  has  too  often  relapsed  into  moral  weak- 
ness or  perversity.  Human  nature,  as  a  prime  condi- 
tion of  health,  must  recreate  itself — must  have  its 
moments  of  unconscious  play,  when  it  throws  off  the 
burden  of  work,  and  rejoices  in  the  mere  sensation  of 
its  own  free  activity. 

And  youth  must  especially  have  such  opportunities 
of  recreation.  It  thirsts  for  them — it  is  all  on  the  alert 
to  catch  them ;  and  if  denied  to  it,  it  dwindles  from 
its  proper  strength,  or  pursues  illegitimate  and  hurtful 
gratifications.  A  ymmg  man  without  the  lov-e— qf 
amusement  is  an  unnatural  phenomenon ;  and  an 
education  that  does  not  provide  for  recreation  as  well 
as  study  would  fail  of  its  higher  end  from  the  very  ex- 
clusiveness  with  which  it  aims  to  reach  it. 

The  question,  How  to  enjoy  ?  is  therefore,  in  its 
right  sense,  always  a  secondary,  never  a  primary  ques- 
tion. It  comes  after  the  question  of  duty,  and  never 
before  it;  and  vhere  the  main  question  is  rightly 
Tesolved,  the  secondary  one  becomes  comparatively 
easy  of  solution.  Principle  first:  Play  afterwards. 
And  if  there  be  the  root  of  right  principle  in  us,  we 
will  not,  need  not  trouble  ourselves  minute^  as  to 


125  SUCCESS  AND  HAPPINESS. 

modes  of  amusement.  Enjoyment  in  itself  is  meant  to 
be  a  right  and  blessing,  and  not  a  snare.  This  is  a 
very  important  truth  for  the  young  to  understand. 
Life  is  open  to  them;  amusement  is  free  to  them. 
They  are  entitled  to  live  freely  and  trustfully,  and  enjoy 
all — if  only  the  sense  of  duty  and  of  God  remain  with 
them — if  only  they  do  not  forget  that  for  all  these  things 
God  will  bring  them  into  judgment.  Under  this  proviso 
they  may  taste  of  enjoyment  as  liberally  as  their 
natures  crave,  and  their  opportunities  offer.  To  preach 
anything  else  to  the  young,  is  neither  true  in  itself  nor 
can  possibly  be  good  to  them.  To  teach  them  to  be 
afraid  of  enjoyment,  is  to  make  them  doubtful  of 
their  own  natural  and  healthy  instincts ;  and  as  these 
instincts  remain,  nevertheless,  and  constantly  reassert 
their  power,  it  is  to  introduce  an  element  of  hurtful 
perplexity  into  their  life.  They  are  urged  on  by 
nature  ;  they  are  held  back  by  authority.  And  if  the 
rein  of  the  outward  law  imposed  upon  them  once 
break,  they  are  plunged  into  darkness.  They  have  no 
guide.  It  is  vain  to  enter  into  this  struggle  with 
nature  :  it  is  cruel  and  wrong  to  do  it.  Nature  must 
have  play,  and  is  to  be  kept  within  bounds  by  its  own 
wise  training,  and  the  development  of  a  higher  spirit 
within,  and  not  by  mere  dictation  an  \  arbitrary  com- 
pulsion from  without. 


HOW  TO  ENJOY.  126 

Ascetic  formality  is  the  refuge  of  a  weak  moral 
nature,  or  the  wretchedness  of  a  strong  one.  How  far 
even  a  noble  mind  may  sink  under  it — to  what  depths 
of  despairing  imbecility  and  almost  impiety  it  may 
reach — we  have  only  to  study  the  austerities  of  Pascal 
to  see.  We  are  told  that  "  Pascal  would  not  per- 
mit himself  to  be  conscious  of  the  relish  of  his  food ; 
he  prohibited  all  seasonings  and  spices,  however 
much  he  might  wish  for  and  need  them ;  and 
he  actually  died  because  he  forced  the  diseased 
stomach  to  receive  at  each  meal  a  certain  amount  of 
aliment,  neither  more  nor  less,  whatever  might  be  his 
appetite  at  the  time,  or  his  utter  want  of  appetite.  He 
wore  a  girdle  armed  with  iron  spikes,  which  he  was 
accustomed  to  drive  in  upon  his  body  (his  fleshless 
ribs)  as  often  as  he  thought  himself  in  need  of  such 
admonition.  He  was  annoyed  and  offended  if  any  in 
his  hearing  might  chance  to  say  that  they  had  just 
seen  a  beautiful  woman.  He  rebuked  a  mother  who 
permitted  her  own  children  to  give  her  their  kisses. 
Towards  a  loving  sister,  who  devoted  herself  to  his 
comfort,  he  assumed  an  artificial  harshness  of  manner 
for  the  express  purpose,  as  he  acknowledged,  of  revolt- 
ing her  sisterly  affection." 

And  all  this  sprung  from  the  simple  principle  that 
earthly  enjoyment  was  inconsistent  with  religion. 


127  SUCCESS  AND  HAPPINESS. 

Once  admit  this  principle,  and  there  is  no  limit  to  the 
abject  and  unhappy  consequences  that  may  be  drawn 
from  it.  The  mind,  thrown  off  any  dependence  upon 
its  own  instincts,  is  cast  into  the  arms  of  some  blind 
authority  or  dogmatism  which  tyrannizes  over  it,  re- 
ducing it  more  frequently  to  weakness  than  bracing  it 
up  to  endurance  and  heroism. 

No  doubt  it  will  be  the  impulse  of  every  Christian 
man,  and  it  ought  no  less  to  be  so  of  every  Christian 
youth,  to  "rejoice  with  trembling."  While  he  hears 
the  voice  saying  to  him,  on  the  one  hand,  "  Rejoice, 
O  young  man,  in  thy  youth,  and  let  thy  heart  cheer 
thee  in  the  days  of  thy  youth,  and  walk  in  the  ways  of 
thine  heart,  and  in  the  sight  of  thine  eyes ;  "  he  will 
not  forget  the  voice  that  says  to  him,  on  the  other 
hand,  "  But  know  thou,  that  for  all  these  things  God 
will  bring  thee  into  judgment."  The  voices  are  one, 
in  fact ;  and  if  he  is  wise,  he  will  acknowledge  their 
unity,  and  be  sober  in  his  very  mirth,  and  temper  the 
hour  of  cheerfulness  with  the  thought  of  responsibility. 
There  is  something  in  the  heart  itself,  even  in  the  heart 
of  the  young,  that  intimates  this  as  the  true  mean. 
There  is  often  a  monition  of  warning  in  the  very  mo- 
ment of  mirth.  The  joy  is  well.  It  is  the  natural  ex- 
pression of  a  healthy  and  well-ordered  frame;  it  leaps 
up  to  meet  the  opportunity  as  the  lark  to  greet  the 


HOW  TO  ENJOY.  ,128 

morn.  The  movement  of  nature  is  as  clear  in  the  one 
case  as  in  the  other;  yet  there  is  a  background  of 
moral  consciousness  lying  behind  the  human  instinct, 
and  always  ready  to  cast  the  shadows  of  thought — of 
reflective  responsibility  over  it. 

Our  constitution  contains  within  itself  a  check  to 
all  undue  excitement.  This  check  is,  no  doubt,  often 
ineffectual,  but  it  is  so  at  the  expense  of  the  constitu- 
tion, and  the  very  capacity  of  enjoyment  which  may 
overtask  itself.  This  capacity  wastes  by  excessive 
use.  Of  nothing  may  the  young  man  be  more  sure 
than  this.  If  he  will  rejoice  without  thought  and  with- 
out care  in  the  days  of  his  youth,  he  will  leave  but 
little  power  of  enjoyment  for  his  manhood  or  old  age. 
If  he  keep  the  flame  of  passion  burning,  and  plunge 
into  excitement  after  excitement  in  his  heyday,  there 
will  be  nothing  but  feebleness  and  exhaustion  in  his 
maturity.  He  cannot  spend  his  strength  and  have  it 
too.  He  cannot  drink  of  every  source  of  pleasure, 
and  have  his  taste  uncloyed,  and  his  thirst  fresh  as  at 
the  first. 

There  is  need  here  of  a  special  caution  in  a  time 
like  ours.  There  are  young  men  who  now-a-days  ex- 
haust pleasure  in  their  youth.  The  comparative  free- 
dom of  modern  life  encourages  an  earlier  entrance 
into  the  world,  and  an  earlier  ass  mption  of  manly 


129  SUCCESS  AND  HAPPINESS. 

manners  and  habits  than  was  wont  to  be.  Pleasure  is 
cheaper  and  more  accessible — the  pleasure  of  travel, 
pleasure  of  many  kinds;  and  it  is  no  uncommon  thing 
to  find  young  men  who  have  run  the  round  of  manly 
pleasure  before  they  have  well  attained  to  man's  estate, 
and  who  are  blase  with  the  world  before  the  time  that 
their  fathers  had  really  entered  into  it. 

The  avoidance  of  all  excess  is  a  golden  rule  in  en- 
joyment.    It  may  be  a  hard,  and  in  certain  cases  an 

* 

impossible  rule  to  the  young.  In  the  abundance  of 
life  there  is  a  tendency  to  overflow;  and  when  the 
young  heart  is  big  with  excited  emotion  it  seems  vain 
to  speak  of  moderation.  Every  one,  probably,  will  be 
able  to  recall  hours  when,  amid  the  competitive  glad- 
ness of  school  or  college  companions  the  impulses  of 
enjoyment  seemed  to  burst  all  bounds,  and  ran  into 
the  most  riotous  excitement;  and  in  the  reminiscences 
of  such  hours  there  may  be  the  charm  as  of  a  long- 
lost  pleasure  never  to  be  felt  again;  but  if  the  memory 
be  fairly  interrogated,  it  will  be  found  that  even  then 
there  was  a  drawback — some  latent  dissatisfaction  and 
weariness,  Of  something  worse,  that  grew  out  of  the 
very  height  or  overplus  of  that  rapturous  enjoyment, 
a  great  humorist  (Thomas  Hood)  has  said: 

"  E'en  the  bright  extremes  of  joy 
Bring  on  conclusions  of  disgust." 


WHAT  TO  ENJOY.  130 

Assuredly  the  most  durable  and  the  best  pleasures  are 
all  tranquil  pleasures.  And  it  is  just  one  of  the  les- 
sons which  change  the  sanguine  anticipations  of  youth 
into  the  sober  experience  of  manhood  that  the  true 
essence  of  attainable  enjoyment  is  not  in  bursts  of 
excitement,  but  in  the  moderate  flow  of  healthy  and 
happy,  because  well-ordered,  emotion. — Abridged  from 
Tulloch. 


WHAT  TO  ENJOY. 

'OUTH  must  have  its  recreations.  Enjoyment 
must  mingle  largely  in  the  life  of  every  healthy 
young  man — enjoyment  liberal  yet  temperate. 

The  active  sports  of  boyhood  may  be,  and  as  far  as 
possible  should  be,  carried  into  early  manhood. 
Athletic  games,  or  whatever  game  carries  the  young 
man  into  the  open  air,  braces  his  muscles,  and 
strengthens  his  health,  and  procures  the  merry-hearted 
companionship  of  his  fellows,  should  be  indulged  in 
without  stint,  so  far  as  his  opportunities  will  permit, 
and  the  proper  claims  of  business  or  of  study  justify. 

There  is  another  class  of  amusements  to  which 
young  men  may  freely  betake  themselves  as  they  have 
opportunity — shooting  and  fishing. 

In  addition  to  such  out-door  amusements,  there  are 


131  SUCCESS  AND  HAPPINESS. 

various  forms  of  in-door  amusement  which  claim  some 
notice.  It  is  more  difficult  to  find  in-door  amusements 
for  young  men,  for  the  simple  reason  that  healthy  and 
happy  exercise  is  the  idea  which  is  chiefly  associated 
with,  and  chiefly  legitimates  recreation  on  their  part. 
And  the  open  air  is  the  natural  place  for  such  exercise. 
Yet  in-door  amusements  must  also  be  found.  Music 
is  one  of  the  chief  of  these  amusements,  and  certainly 
one  of  the  most  innocent  and  elevating. 

Of  all  delights,  to  those  who  have  the  gift  or  taste 
for  it,  music  is  the  most  exquisite.  To  affix  the  term 
amusement  to  it  is  perhaps  scarcely  fair.  It  is  always 
more  than  this  when  duly  appreciated. 

There  is  no  other  recreation,  if  this  be  the  proper 
name  for  it  at  all,  which  is  so  purely  intellectual. 
Other  amusements,  many  games,  may  exercise  the  in- 
tellect, and  even  largely  draw  forth  its  powers  of  fore- 
thought, of  decision  and  readiness  ;  but  music  appeals 
to  the  soul  in  those  deeper  springs  which  lie  close  to 
spiritual  and  moral  feeling.  It  lifts  it  out  of  the  pres- 
ent and  visible  into  the  future  and  invisible.  Even  in 
its  gayer  and  lighter  strains  it  often  does  this,  as  well 
as  in  its  more  solemn  and  sacred  chants.  The  simple 
lilt  of  a  song  which  we  have  heard  in  youth,  or  which 
reminds  us  of  home  and  country — some  fragment  of 
melody  slight  in  meaning,  yet  exquisitely  touching  in 


WHAT  TO  ENJOY.  132 

sweet  or  pathetic  wildness — will  carry  the  soul  into  a 
higher  region,  and  make  a  man  feel  kindred  with  the 

immortals. 

"  O  joy!  that  in  our  embers 

Is  something  that  doth  live; 
That  nature  yet  remembers 
What  was  so  fugitive  1" 

A  joy  so  precious  as  this,  and  which  may  minister  to 
iuch  high  ends,  is  one  which  we  are  bound  to  cultivate 
in  every  manner,  and  for  which  we  are  warranted  in 
seeking  the  fullest  indulgence.  The  concert,  the 
oratorio,  the  opera,  are  all,  from  this  point  of  view,  to 
be  commended. 

The  love  of  play  of  any  kind  in  the  shape  of 
billiards  or  cards,  or  anything  else,  is  a  hazardous,  and 
may  prove,  before  you  are  well  aware  of  it,  a  fatal 
passion.  Whenever  it  begins  to  develop,  you  have 
passed  the  bounds  of  amusement ;  and  to  indulge  in 
any  games  but  for  amusement  is  at  once  an  infatuation 
and  temptation  of  the  worst  kind. 

The  drama  is  in  its  idea  noble  and  exalting — one  of 
the  most  natural,  and  therefore  most  effective  expres- 
sions of  literary  art.  Who  may  not  be  made  wiser 
and  better  by  the  study  of  Shakspeare's  wonderful 
creations  ?  In  what  human  compositions  rather  than 
in  his  plays  would  a  young  man  seek  for  the  stimulus 
of  high  thoughts,  and  the  excitement  of  lofty  and 

/ 

Q 


133  SUCCESS  AND  HAPPINESS. 

heroic  or  gentle  and  graceful  virtues  ?  The  stage  in 
its  true  conception  is  a  school  of  morals  as  well  as  of 
manners,  in  which  the  things  that  are  excellent  should 
commend  themselves,  and  the  things  that  are  low  and 
bad  show  their  own  disgrace.  There  is  no  species  of 
entertainment  that  can,  according  to  its  true  idea, 
more  completely  vindicate  itself  than  the  theatre. 

Festive  parties  among  yourselves,  how  light  and 
genial  may  they  be  !  What  feast  of  reason  and  flow 
of  soul !  What  flash  of  wit  and  cannonade  of  argu- 
ment may  they  call  forth  !  What  radiant  sparks,  the 
memory  of  which  will  never  die  out,  but  come  back  in 
the  easy  and  humorous  moments  of  an  earnest  and  it 
may  be  a  sad  existence,  and  brighten  up  the  past  with 
the  momentary  coruscations  of  a  departed  brilliancy! 
What  deep,  hearty  friendship  may  illuminate  and 
beautify  them!  Yet  we  know  that  such  gladsome  mo- 
ments are  peculiarly  akin  to  danger.  Merriment- may 
pass  into  wantonness,  and  legitimate  indulgence  into  a 
riotous  carouse.  Moderation  is  the  difficulty  of  youth 
in  everything.  Yet  when  the  bounds  of  moderation 
are  once  passed,  all  the  enjoyment  is  gone — recreation 
ceases.  Edward  Irving  says  : 

"  Mirth  and  laughter,  and  the  song,  and  the  dance, 
and  the  feast,  and  the  wine-cup,  with  all  the  jovial 
glee  which  circulates  around  the  festive  board,  are 


WHAT  TO  ENJOY.  134 

only  proper  to  the  soul  at  those  seasons  when  she  is 
filled  with  extraordinary  gladness,  and  should  wait 
until  those  seasons  arrive  in  order  to  be  partaken  of 
wholesomely  and  well;  but  by  artificial  means  to  make 
an  artificial  excitement  of  the  spirits  is  violently  to 
change  the  law  and  order  of  our  nature,  and  to  force 
it  to  that  to  which  it  is  not  willingly  inclined.  With- 
out such  high  calls  and  occasions,  to  make  mirth  and 
laughter  is  to  belie  nature,  and  misuse  the  ordinance 
of  God.  It  is  a  false  glare,  which  doth  but  show  the 
darkness  and  deepen  the  gloom.  It  is  to  wear  out  and 
dissipate  the  oil  of  gladness,  so  that,  when  gladness 
cometh,  we  have  no  light  of  joy  within  our  souls,  and 
look  upon  it  with  baleful  eyes.  It  is  not  a  figure,  but 
a  truth,  that  those  who  make  those  artificial  merri- 
ments night  after  night,  have  no  taste  for  natural  mirth, 
and  are  gloomy  and  morose  until  the  revels  of  the 
table  or  the  lights  of  the  saloon  bring  them  to  life 
again.  Nature  is  worsted  by  art — artificial  fire  is 
stolen,  but  not  from  heaven,  to  quicken  the  pulse  of 
life,  and  the  pulse  of  life  runs  on  with  fevered  speed, 
and  the  strength  of  man  is  prostrated  in  a  few  brief 
years,  and  old  age  comes  over  the  heart  when  life 
should  yet  be  in  its  prime.  And  not  only  is  heaven 
made  shipwreck  of,  but  the  world  is  made  shipwreck 
of — not  only  the  spiritual  man  quenched,  but  the 


135  SUCCESS  AND  HAPPINESS. 

animal  man  quenched,  by  such  unseasonable  and  in- 
temperate merrymakings." 

In  all  your  enjoyments,  therefore,  be  moderate. 
The  principle  that  leads  and  regulates  you  must  be 
from  within.  Set  your  heart  right  in  the  love  of  God 
and  the  faith  of  Christ,  and  difficulties  will  disappear. 
Your  recreation  will  fit  in  naturally  to  your  life.  The 
inner  life  in  you  will  assimilate  to  the  Divine  every- 
where, and  return  its  own  blessed  and  consecrating 
influence  to  all  your  work  and  all  your  amusments. — 
Abridged  from  Tulloch. 


MARRIAGE. 

'HE  foundation  of  every  good  government  is  the 
family.  The  best  and  most  prosperous  country 
is  that  which  has  the  greatest  number  of  happv 
firesides.  The  holiest  institution  among  men  is  marri- 
age. It  has  taken  the  race  countless  ages  to  come  up 
to  the  condition  of  marriage.  Without  it  there  would 
be  no  civilization,  no  human  advancement,  no  life 
worth  living.  Life  is  a  failure  to  any  woman  who  has 
not  secured  the  love  and  adoration  of  some  grand  and 
magnificent  man.  Life,  is  a  mockery  to  any  man,  no 
matter  whether  he  be  mendicant  or  monarch,  who  has 


WHY  A  MAN  NEEDS  A  WIFE,  136 

not  won  the  heart  of  some  worthy  woman.  Without 
love  and  marriage,  all  the  priceless  joys  of  this  life 
would  be  as  ashes  on  the  lips  of  the  children  of  men. 

"  You  had  better  be  the  emperor  of  one  loving  and 
tender  heart,  and  she  the  empress  of  yours,  than  to  be 
the  king  of  the  world.  The  man  who  has  really  won 
the  love  of  one  good  woman  in  this  world,  it  matters 
not  though  he  die  in  the  ditch  a  beggar,  his  life  has 
been  a  success." 

There  is  a  heathen  book  which  says:  "  Man  is 
strength,  woman  is  beauty;  man  is  courage,  woman  is 
love.  When  the  one  man  loves  the  one  woman,  and 
the  one  woman  loves  the  one  man,  the  very  angels 
leave  heaven  and  come  and  sit  in  that  house  and  sing 
for  joy." — The  Physiologist* 


WHY  A  MAN  NEEDS  A  WIFE. 

is  not  to  sweep  the  house,  make  the  bed,  darn 
the  socks  and  cook  the  meals  chiefly,  that  a 
man  wants  a  wife.  If  this  is  all  he  needs,  hired 
help  can  do  it  cheaper  than  a  wife.  If  this  is  all,  when 
a  young  man  calls  to  see  a  lady,  send  him  into  the 
pantry  to  taste  the  bread  and  cake  she  has  made;  send 
him  to  inspect  the  needlework  and  bed-making;  or  put 


137  SUCCESS  AND  HAPPINESS. 

a  broom  in  her  hand,  and  send  him  to  witness  its  use. 
Such  things  are  important,  and  the  wise  young  man 
will  quickly  look  after  them  j  but  what  the  true  man 
wants  with  a  wife  is  her  companionship,  sympathy  and 
love.  The  way  of  life  has  many  dreary  places  in  it, 
and  man  needs  a  companion  to  go  with  him.  A  man  is 
sometimes  overtaken  by  misfortune ;  he  meets  with 
failure  and  defeat ;  trials  and  temptations  beset  him, 
and  he  needs  one  to  stand  by  and  sympathize.  He  has 
some  hard  battles  to  fight  with  poverty,  enemies,  and 
with  sin  ;  and  he  needs  a  woman  that,  when  he  puts 
his  arm  around  her,  he  feels  he  has  something  to  fight 
for,  she  will  help  him  to  fight.  All  through  life,  through 
storms  and  through  sunshine,  conflict  and  victory ; 
through  adverse  and  through  favoring  winds,  man 
needs  a  woman's  love.  Happy  he  who  finds  it. 


HAPPINESS. 

TVER  since  the  world  sinned  and  woke  up  to 
misery,  there  is  one  absentee  whom  all  have 


agreed  in  deploring.  Every  age  has  asked 
tidings  of  her  from  the  age  that  has  went  before, 
and  from  the  one  which  came  after;  and  even  the 
most  indolent  have  out  forth  an  effort,  and  have  joined 


HAPPINESS.  138 

their  neighbors  in  searching  for  this  fugitive.  Some 
have  dived  into  the  billowy  main,  and  sought  her  in 
pearly  grottoes  and  coral  caves.  And  some  have  bored 
into  the  solid  rock,  and  rummaged  for  her  in  the 
mountain  roots.  And  some  have  risen  to  where  the 
eagles  poise,  and  have  scanned  in  successive  horizons 
the  habitable  surface;  but  all  have  got  the  same  report. 
"Where  is  happiness?  " — "  Not  in  me,"  cries  the  leafy- 
grove;  " nor  in  me,"  booms  the  sounding  tide;  "nor 
in  me,"  rumbles  gaunt  and  hollow  from  the  dusky 
mine.  And  failing  to  detect  her  in  life's  by-paths  and 
open  ways,  her  votaries  have  reared  decoys  or  shrines 
into  which  she  haply  might  turn  aside.  But  all  of  them 
have  failed  entirely.  Theatres,  dancing-saloons,  gin- 
palaces,  racing-booths — there  is  no  authentic  instance 
that  she  ever  entered  one  of  them.  And  though  some 
have  fancied  that  they  glimpsed  her — "  yes,  yes,"  they 
whisper,  "  yonder  she  passed;  and  in  that  hall  of 
science,  in  that  temple  of  knowledge,  in  that  sweet 
home,  you'll  find  her; "  by  the  time  you  reached  it, 
there  was  a  death's-head  at  the  door,  and  a  "  Mene 
Tekel  "  on  the  wall.  "  Not  in  me,"  sighed  vain  philos- 
ophy; and  "not  in  me,"  re-echoed  the  worldling's 
rifled  home. 

But  where  is  happiness?    Man  knows  that  she  is  not 
dead,  but  disappeared;  and  ever  since  under  the  for- 


139  SUCCESS  AND  HAPPINESS. 

bidden  tree  he  ate  the  bitter-sweet  and  startled  her 
away,  he  has  longed  to  find  that  other  and  enlighten- 
ing fruit  which  would  reveal  her  to  his  eyes  again. 
And  this  is  the  boon  which  the  world's  teachers  have 
undertaken  to  supply.  They  have  come  from  time  to 
time,  seers  and  sages,  Thales,  Pythagoras,  Zoroaster, 
Epicurus,  Con-fu-tze,  and  to  humanity's  wondering 

• 

gaze  they  have  held  up  apples,  as  they  said,  fresh 
gathered  from  the  Tree  of  Life.  But  after  rushing  and 
jostling  round  them,  and  getting  at  great  cost  a  prize, 
these  all  proved  naught  to  the  hungry  buyer.  The 
golden  apples  were  mere  make-believes;  hollow  rinds, 
painted  shells  filled  up  with  trash  or  trifles.  Some  ate, 
and  still  their  soul  had  appetite;  others  ate,  and  were 
poisoned. 

At  last,  along  the  path  which  a  hundred  prophecies 
had  carved  and  smoothed,  "the  desire  of  all  nations" 
— the  Son  of  God — appeared.  And  from  the  paradise 
above  he  fetched  the  long-lost  secret.  Himself  "  the 
truth ;  "  his  every  sentence  freighted  with  majesty,  and 
fragrant  with  heaven's  sanctity;  it  needed  not  the  fre- 
quent miracle  to  compel  the  exclamation,  "  Rabbi,  we 
know  that  thou  art  a  teacher  come  from  God."  He 
did  not  reason ;  he  revealed.  His  sayings  were  not 
the  conjectures  of  keen  sagacity,  nor  even  the  recol- 
lections of  an  angel  visitor;  but  they  were  authoritative 


HAPPINESS.  140 

words — the  insight  of  Omniscience,  the  oracle  of  in- 
carnate Deity.  And  giving  freely  to  all  comers  "  the 
apples  of  gold  "  from  his  "  basket  of  silver,"  the  dim 
and  the  famished  ate,  and  with  open  eyes  looking  up, 
in  himself  they  recognized  the  answer  to  the  ancient 
query.  "What  is  happiness?  " — "  Come  unto  me,"  is 
the  Saviour's  reply ;  "  come  unto  me,  all  ye  that  labor 
and  are  heavy  laden,  and  I  will  give  you  rest.  Take 
my  yoke  upon  you,  and  learn  of  me  ;  for  I  am  meek 
and  lowly  in  heart :  and  ye  shall  find  rest  unto  your 
souls."  "  Where  is  happiness  ?  "  Here,  at  the  feet  of 
Immanuel.  And  then,  and  since,  thousands  have  veri- 
fied the  saying.  In  the  words  of  Jesus  they  have  dis- 
covered the  boon  for  which  their  understandings 
longed — conclusive  and  soul-filling  knowledge  ;  and  in 
his  person  and  work  they  have  found  the  good  for 
which  their  conscience  craved — a  saving  and  sanctify- 
ing Power. 

To  the  great  question,  What  is  happiness?  Jesus  is 
the  embodied  answer — at  once  the  teacher  and  the  les- 
son. The  question  had  been  asked  for  ages,  and  some 
hundred  solutions  had  been  proposed.  And  in  the 
outset  of  his  ministry  the  Saviour  took  it  up,  and  gave 
the  final  answer.  What  is  happiness?  "  Happy  are 
the  humble.  Happy  are  the  contrite.  Happy  are  the 
meek.  Happy  are  they  who  hunger  after  righteous- 


141  SUCCESS  AND  HAPPINESS. 

/ 

iress.  Happy  are  the  merciful,  the  pure  in  heart,  the 
peace-makers,  the  men  persecuted  for  righteousness." 
In  other  words,  he  declared  that  happiness  is  good- 
ness. A  holy  nature  is  a  happy  one. 

Placed  before  you  is  a  casket  of  gold,  and  you  are 
asked  to  guess  what  it  contains;  and  looking  at  its  ex- 
quisite tracery  and  costly  material,  you  think  of  a 
blazing  diamond  or  a  monarch's  signet-ring.  Guess? 
You  can  not  guess.  They  open  it,  and  reveal  a  spider, 
a  scorpion,  or  a  spinning-worm!  And  surveying  a 
human  soul,  you  view  the  finest  casket  in  this  world. 
Made  on  a  heavenly  pattern,  with  powers  so  capacious, 
and  feelings  so  susceptible,  in  order  to  be  worthily 
occupied,  it  would  need  to  be  filled  with  some  lofty 
purpose,  some  pure  and  noble  motive.  My  reader, 
you  have  got  that  casket.  What  have  you  put  in  it  ? 
What  is  the  thing  which  chiefly  occupies  your  thoughts? 
Your  great  pursuit  and  pleasure?  What  impels  you  to 
exertion?  Is  it  money?  Is  it  popularity  and  praise? 
Is  it  dress?  Is  it  dainty  food?  Is  it  some  fierce  and 
evil  passion?  Is  it  envy?  Is  it  resentment?  Is  it  self- 
ishness? Is  it  the  wish  to  achieve  your  own  personal 
ease  and  comfort?  Is  it  something  so  paltry  that  you 
are  ashamed  to  call  it  the  business  of  life? — something 
so  baleful  that  it  degrades  and  destroys  the  heart  which 
hides  it? 


HAPPINESS.  142 

Seek  to  have  your  bosom  filled  with  pure  kindness 
and   holy  compassion — a  compassion   various   as   is 
human  sorrow — a  kindness  which  shall  still  be  flowing 
while  life  itself  is  ebbing.    Cease  to  be  selfish.    Learn 
the  blessedness  of  doing  good.     Even  you  can  con- 
tribute to  that  great  work — the  making  of  a  bad  world 
better.    Is  there  no  acquaintance  over  whom  you  have 
influence?   None  whom  you  might  reclaim  from  a  bad 
habit?     None  whom  you  might  induce  to  read  some 
useful  book,  or  attend  the  house  of  God?     Are  there 
no  poor  children  whom  you  might  collect  on  a  Sabbath 
afternoon,  and  teach  them  a  Bible  lesson?     Is  there 
no  sick  neighbor  to  whom  you  might  carry  a  little 
comfort — something  nice  to  tempt  his  listless  palate? 
No  invalid  friend  whom  you  might  cheer  with  an  hour 
of  your  company,  or  to  whom  you  might  read  or  say 
something  for  the  good  of  his  soul?     At  all  events,, 
you  can  be  doing  good  at  home.     You  can  minister 
to  the  wants  of  some  aged  parent.     You  can  sooth  the 
grief  of  some   bereaved   relation.      You   can  lend   a 
helping  hand,  and  lighten  their  labors  who  have  got 
too  much  to  do.    With  a  firm  but  fatherly  control,  you- 
can  guide  your   children  in  wisdom's  ways.   And  you- 
can   diffuse   throughout   your   dwelling   that  sweetest 
music — cheerful  and  approving  words;  that  brightest 
light — the    clear    shining  of  a   cordial   countenance. 


• 

143  SUCCESS  AND  HAPPINESS. 

And  when  God  in  His  Providence  sends  favorable 
opportunities,  with  self-denial  and  prayerful  affection, 
you  may  be  the  means  of  stamping  on  some  immortal 
mind  a  truth  or  lesson  as  enduring  as  that  mind  itself. 
You  will  not  need  to  study  your  appearance,  nor  to 
be  nervous  about  people's  opinions;  for  by  its  self- 
sustaining  sincerity,  your  conduct  will  sooner  or  later 
achieve  its  own  vindication,  and  in  her  child  shall 
Wisdom  be  justified.  In  your  common  talk  there 
will  be  no  scurrility  nor  scandal;  nothing  false,  nothing 
unseemly,  nothing  base  nor  vile.  In  your  ordinary 
acting,  there  will  be  no  crooks  nor  crotchets;  nothing 
cruel  or  oppressive;  nothing  for  which  conscience  can 
not  render  a  good  reason. — Hamilton. 


SUCCESS 

'HETHER  your  life  shall  be  successful  or 
not,  is  a  question  which  must  be  answered 
by  yourself  alone.  It  cannot  be  done  by 
proxy.  Temperance,  frugality,  honesty,  and  economy, 
accompanied  by  strong  determination  and  persever- 
ance, will  bring  you  to  the  goal  of  success  and  pros- 
perity. Nothing  else  will.  "  The  longer  I  live,"  said 
Fowell  Buxton,  "  the  more  I  am  certain  that  the  great 


SUCCESS.  144 

difference  between  men,  between  the  feeble  and  the 
powerful,  the  great  and  the  insignificant,  is  energy — 
invincible  determination — a  purpose  once  fixed,  and 
then  death  or  victoryl  That  quality  will  do  anything 
that  can  be  done  in  this  world;  and  no  talents,  no  cir- 
cumstances, no  opportunities,  will  make  a  two-legged 
creature  a  man  without  it."  LThe  path  of  success  in 
business  is  invariably  the  path  of  common  sense.  The 
best  kind  of  success  in  every  man's  life  is  not  that 
which  comes  by  accident,  and  "  lucky  hits  "  often  turn 
out  very  unlucky  in  the  end.  "  We  may  succeed  for  a 
time  by  fraud,  by  surprise,  by  violence;  but  we  can 
succeed  permanently  only  by  means  directly  opposite." 
"  Honesty  is  the  best  policy,"  and  it  is  upheld  by  the 
daily  experience  of  life ;  uprightness  and  integrity 
being  found  as  successful  in  business  as  in  everything 
^  else.  "It  is  possible  that  the  scrupulously  honest  man 
may  not  grow  rich  so  fast  as  the  unscrupulous  and  dis- 
honest one;  but  the  success  will  be  of  atruer  kind,  earned 
without  fraud  or  injustice.  And  even  though  a  man 
should  for  a  time  be  unsuccessful,  still  he  must  be 
honest;  better  lose  all  and  save  character.  For  char- 
acter is  itself  a  fortune,  and  if  the  high-principled  man 
will  but  hold  in  his  way  courageously,  success  will 
surely  come — nor  will  the  highest  reward  of  all  be 
withheld  from  him. 


145  SUCCESS  AND  HAPPINESS 

The  rules  of  conduct  followed  by  Lord  Erskine  are 
worthy  of  being  engraven  on  every  young  man's  heart: 
"  It  was  a  first  command  and  counsel  of  my-  earliest 
youth,"  he  said,  "always  to  do  what  my  conscience 
told  me  to  be  a  duty,  and  to  leave  the  consequence  to 
God.  I  shall  carry  with  me  the  memory,  and  I  trust 
the  practice,  of  this  parental  lesson,  to  the  grave. 
I  have  hitherto  followed  it,  and  I  have  no  reason  to 
complain  that  my  obedience  to  it  has  been  a  temporal 
sacrifice.  I  have  found  it,  on  the  contrary,  the  road 
to  prosperity  and  wealth,  and  I  shall  point  out  the 
same  path  to  my  children  for  their  pursuit.'* 

Disappointments  and  difficulties  may  fall  to  your  lot, 
but  let  them  not  crush  your  determination  to  succeed. 
George  Stephenson  worked  fifteen  years  at  the  im- 
provement of  his  locomotive  before  achieving  his  de- 
cisive victory.  William  Cobbett  mastered  English 
grammar  when  a  private  soldier  on  the  pay  of  sixpence 
a  day,  and  often  underwent  great  hardship  in  his 
efforts  to  advance  in  knowledge.  Audubon,  the  ornith- 
ologist, had  two  hundred  of  his  original  drawings, 
representing  two  thousand  inhabitants  of  air,  eaten  up 
by  rats,  and  the  loss  nearly  put  a  stop  to  his  researches. 
He  took  up  his  gun,  note-book  and  pencils,  and  went 
forth  to  the  woods  gayly,  as  if  nothing  had  happened. 
In  three  years  his  portfolio  was  again  filled.  The  list 


SUCCESS.  H6 

of  men  who  have  overcome  what  seemed  to  others  in- 
surmountable obstacles  is  a  long  one,  and  the  few  in- 
stances given  are  sufficient  to  illustrate  the  power  of 
determination  and  perseverance.  "  What  is  even 
poverty  itself,"  asks  Richter,  "  that  a  man  should  mur- 
mur under  it  ?  It  is  but  as  the  pain  of  piercing  a 
maiden's  ear,  and  you  hang  precious  jewels  in  the 
wound."  Many  are  found  capable  of  bravely  bearing 
up  under  privations  and  trials,  who  are  afterwards 
found  unable  to  withstand  the  more  dangerous  in- 
fluences of  prosperity.  Prosperity  is  apt  to  harden 
the  heart  to  pride;  adversity,  in  a  man  of  resolution, 
will  only  serve  to  ripen  it  to  fortitude.  Difficulties  may 
intimidate  the  weak,  but  they  act  only  as  a  wholesome 
stimulus  to  men  of  pluck  and  resolution.  All  experi- 
ence of  life,  indeed,  serves  to  prove  that  the  impedi- 
ments thrown  in  the  way  of  success  may,  for  the  most 
part,  be  overcome  by  steady  conduct,  honest  zeal, 
activity,  perseverance,  and  above  all,  by  a  determined 
resolution  to  surmount  difficulties,  and  stand  up  man- 
fully against  misfortune. 

"Honor  and  shame  from  no  condition  rise, 
Act  well  your  part,  there  all  the  honor  lies." 

Be  it  yours  to  strive  and  win,  and  to  obtain  in  this 
world  riches  and  honor,  and  in  the  world  to  come  a 
"  crown  of  life."  Such  a  victory  is  surely  the  greatest 


147  SUCCESS  AND  HAPPINESS. 

success  that  can  be  attained,  and  is  far  more  lasting 
and  enduring  than  so-called  success  obtained  by 
fraud  and  trickery,  however  much  it  may  appear  to  the 
contrary  at  times. 

There  are  many  who,  in  their  eager  desire  for  the 
end,  overlook  the  difficulties  in  the  way ;  there  is 
another  class  who  see  nothing  else.  The  first  class 
may  sometimes  fail;  the  latter  rarely  succeed. 


THE  IRREPARABLE  PAST. 

ytf  TIME  is  the  solemn  inheritance  to  which  every 

Jman  is  born  heir,  who  has  a  life-rent  of  this 
*• 
world — a  little  section  cut  out  of  eternity,  and 

given  us  to  do  our  work  in;  an  eternity  before,  an 
eternity  behind:  and  the  small  stream  between,  float- 
ing swiftly  from  the  one  into  the  vast  bosom  of  the 
other.  The  man  who  has  felt,  with  all  his  soul,  the 
significance  of  time,  will  not  be  long  in  learning  any 
lesson  that  this  world  has  to  teach  him.  Have  you 
ever  felt  it  ?  Have  you  ever  realized  how  your  own 
little  streamlet  is  gliding  away  and  bearing  you  along 
with  it  towards  that  awful  other  world  of  which  all 
things  here  are  but  thin  shadows,  down  into  that 


THE  IRREPARABLE  PAST.  148 

eternity  towards  which  the  confused  wreck  of  all 
earthly  things  is  bound  ? 

Let  us  realize,  that,  until  that  sensation  of  time,  and 
the  infinite  meaning  which  is  wrapped  up  in  it,  has 
taken  possession  of  our  souls,  there  is  no  chance  of 
our  ever  feeling  strongly  that  it  is  worse  than  madness 
to  sleep  that  time  away.  Every  day  in  this  world  has 
its  work;  and  every  day,  as  it  rises  out  of  eternity, 
keeps  putting  to  each  of  us  the  question  afresh,  What 
will  you  do  before  to-day  has  sunk  into  eternity  and 
nothingness  again? 

And  now  what  have  we  to  say  with  respect  to  this 
strange,  solemn  thing — TIME?  That  men  do  with  it 
through  life  just  what  the  Apostles  did  for  one  precious 
and  irreparable  hour  of  it  in  the  garden  of  Geth- 
semane — they  go  to  sleep!  Have  you  ever  seen  those 
marble  statues,  in  some  public  square  or  garden, 
which  art  has  so  finished  into  a  perennial  fountain 
that  through  the  lips  or  through  the  hands  the  clear 
water  flows  in  a  perpetual  stream  on  and  on  forever, 
and  the  marble  stands  there — passive,  cold — making 
no  effort  to  arrest  the  gliding  water? 

It  is  so  that  time  flows  through  the  hands  of  men — 
swift,  never  pausing  till  it  has  run  itself  out;  and  there 
is  the  man  petrified  into  a  marble  sleep,  not  feeling 
what  it  is  which  is  passing  away  forever!  It  is  so,  just 


149  SUCCESS  AND  HAPPINESS. 

so,  that  the  destiny  of  nine  men  out  of  ten  accom- 
plishes itself,  slipping  away  from  them  aimless,  useless, 
till  it  is  too  late.  And  we  are  asked,  with  all  the 
solemn  thoughts  which  crowd  around  our  approaching 
eternity,  What  has  been  our  life,  and  what  do  we  in- 
tend it  shall  be  ? 

Yesterday,  last  week,  last  year,  they  are  gone!  Yes- 
terday was  such  a  day  as  never  was  before,  and  never 
can  be  again.  Out  of  darkness  and  eternity  it  was 
born,  a  new,  fresh  day;  into  darkness  and  eternity  it 
sank  again  forever.  It  had  a  voice,  calling  to  us  of 
its  own — its  own  work,  its  own  duties.  What  were  we 
doing  yesterday?  Idling,  whiling  away  the  time,  in 
light  and  luxurious  literature;  not  as  life's  relaxation, 
but  as  life's  business?  Thrilling  our  hearts  with  the 
excitement  of  life,  contriving  how  to  spend  the  day 
most  pleasantly?  Was  that  our  day? 

All  this  is  but  the  sleep  of  the  three  Apostles.  And 
now  let  us  remember  this:  There  is  a  day  coming 
when  the  sleep  will  be  broken  rudely — with  a  shock; 
there  is  a  day  in  our  future  lives  when  our  time  will 
be  counted,  not  by  years,  nor  by  months,  nor  yet  by 
hours,  but  by  minutes — the  day  when  unmistakable 
symptoms  shall  announce  that  the  messenger  of  death 
has  come  to  take  us. 

That  startling  moment  will  come,  which  it  is  vain  to 


PREPARE  FOR  THE  END.  150 

attempt  to  realize  now,  when  it  will  be  felt  that  it  is 
all  over  at  last — that  our  chance  and  our  trial  are 
past.  The  moment  that  we  have  tried  to  think 
of,  shrunk  from,  put  away  from  us,  here  it  is — going 
too,  like  all  other  moments  that  have  gone  before 
it;  and  then  with  eyes  unsealed  at  last,  we  shall  look 
back  on  the  life  which  is  gone  by. — Robertson. 


PREPARE  FOR  THE  END. 

"T  is  well  for  the  young  man,  even  in  entering 
upon  life,  to  remember  its  termination,  and  how 
swiftly  and  suddenly  the  end  may  come.  "  Here 
we  have  no  continuing  city."  We  are  "  strangers  and 
pilgrims,  as  all  our  fathers  were,"  and  the  road  of  life 
at  its  very  opening  may  pass  from  under  us,  and  ere 
we  have  well  entered  upon  the  enjoyments  and  work 
of  the  present,  we  may  be  launched  into  the  invisible 
and  future  world  that  awaits  us.  At  the  best  life  is 
but  a  brief  space.  "  It  appeareth  for  a  little  moment, 
and  then  vanisheth  away."  It  is  but  a  flash  out  of 
darkness,  soon  again  to  return  into  darkness.  Or,  as 
the  old  Saxon  imagination  conceived,  it  is  like  the 
swift  flight  of  a  bird  from  the  night  without,  through  a 
lighted  chamber,  filled  with  guests  and  warm  with  the 


SUCCESS  AND  HAPPINESS. 

breath  of  passion,  back  into  the  cold  night  again 
(Bede,  ii.,  13).  We  stand,  as  it  were,  on  a  narrow 
"  strip  of  shore,  waiting  till  the  tide,  which  has  washed 
away  hundreds  of  millions  of  our  fellows,  shall  wash 
us  away  also  into  a  country  of  which  there  are  no 
charts,  and  from  which  there  is  no  return."  The 
image  may  be  almost  endlessly  varied.  The  strange 
and  singular  uncertainty  of  life  is  a  stock  theme  of 
pathos;  but  no  descriptive  sensibility  can  really  touch 
all  the  mournful  tenderness  which  it  excites. 

It  is  not  easy  for  a  young  man,  nor  indeed  for  any 
man  in  high  health  and  spirits,  to  realize  the  transi- 
toriness  of  life  and  all  its  ways.  Nothing  would  be 
less  useful  than  to  fill  the  mind  with  gloomy  images  of 
death,  and  to  torment  the  present  by  apprehensions 
as  to  the  future.  Religion  does  not  require  nor 
countenance  any  such  morbid  anxiety;  yet  it  is  good 
also  to  sober  the  thoughts  with  the  consciousness  of 
life's  frailty  and  death's  certainty.  It  is  good  above 
all  to  live  every  day  as  we  would  wish  to  have  done 
when  we  come  to  die.  We  need  not  keep  the  dread 
event  before  us,  but  we  should  do  our  work  and  duty 
as  if  we  were  ever  waiting  for  it  and  ready  to  en- 
counter it.  "  Whatsoever  thy  hand  findeth  to  do,  do  it 
with  thy  might;  for  there  is  no  work,  nor  device,  nor 
knowledge,  nor  wisdom  in  the  grave,  whither  thou 


PREPARE  FOR  THE  END.  152 

goest."     Our  work  here  should  always  be  preparatory 
for  the  end.     Our  enjoyments  should  be  such  as  shall 
not  shame  us  when  we  stand  face  to  face  with  death. 
The  young,  and  the  old  too,  but  especially  the  young, 
are  apt  to  forget  this.     In  youth  we  fail  to  realize  the 
intimate    dependency,    the    moral    coherency   which 
binds  life  together  everywhere,   and  gives  an  awful 
meaning  to  every  part  of  it.     We  do  not  think  of  con- 
sequences as  we  recklessly  yield  to  passion,  or  stain 
the  soul  by  sinful  indulgence.     But  the  storm  of  pas- 
sion  never   fails  to   leave   its   waste,  and   the   stain, 
although  it  may  have  been  washed  by  the   tears  of 
penitence,  and  the  blood  of  a  Saviour,  remains.  There 
is  something  different,  something  less  firm,  less  clear, 
honest,  or  consistent  in  our  life  in  consequence;  and 
the  buried  sin  rises  from  its  grave  in  our  sad  moments, 
and  haunts  us  with  its  terror,  or  abashes  us  with  its 
shame.    Assuredly  it  will  find  us  out  at  last,  if  we  lose 
not  all  spiritual  sensibility.     When  our  feet  begin  "  to 
stumble  on  the  dark  mountains,"  and  the  present  loses 
its  hold  upon  us,  and  the  objects  of  sense  wax  faint 
and  dim,  there  is  often  a  strangely  vivid  light  shed 
over  our  whole  moral  history.     Our  life  rises  before 
us  in  its  complete  development,  and  with  the  scars 
and  wounds  of  sin  just  where  we  made  them.     The 
sorrow  of  an  irreparable  past  comes  upon  us,  and  we 


153  SUCCESS  AND  HAPPINESS. 

are  tortured  in  vain  by  the  thought  of  the  good  we 
have  thrown  away,  or  of  the  evil  we  have  made  our 
portion. 

Let  no  young  man  imagine  for  a  moment  that  it  can 
ever  be  unimportant  whether  he  yields  to  this  or  that 
sinful  passion,  or,  as  it  may  appear  to  him  at  the  time, 
venial  indulgence.  Let  him  not  try  to  quiet  his  con- 
science by  the  thought  that  at  the  worst  he  will  out- 
live the  memory  of  his  folly,  and  attain  to  a  higher  life 
in  the  future.  Many  may  seem  to  him  to  have  done 
this.  Many  of  the  greatest  men  have  been,  he  may 
think,  wild  in  youth.  They  have  "  sown  their  wild 
oats,"  as  the  saying  is,  and  had  done  with  them;  and 
their  future  lives  have  only  appeared  the  more  remark- 
able in  the  view  of  the  follies  of  their  youth.  A  more 
mischievous  delusion  could  not  possibly  possess  the 
mind  of  any  young  man.  For  as  surely  as  the  inner- 
most law  of  the  world  is  the  law  of  moral  retribution, 
they  who  sow  wild  oats  will  reap,  in  some  shape  or 
another,  a  sour  and  bitter  harvest.  For  "  whatsoever 
a  man  soweth  that  shall  he  also  reap;  he  that  soweth 
to  the  flesh,  shall  of  the  flesh  reap  corruption;  he  that 
soweth  to  the  Spirit,  shall  of  the  Spirit  reap  life  ever- 
lasting." 

There  is  nothing  more  sure  than  this  law  of  moral 
connexion  and  retribution.  Life,  through  all  its  course, 


PREPARE  FOR  THE  END.  154 

is  a  series  of  moral  impulses  and  consequences,  each 
part  of  which  bears  the  impress  of  all  that  goes  before, 
and  again  communicates  its  impress  to  all  that  follows. 
And  it  is  with  the  character,  which  is  the  sum  of  all, 
that  we  meet  death,  and  enter  on  the  life  to  come. 
Every  act  of  life — all  our  work,  and  study,  and  enjoy- 
ment— our  temptations,  our  sins,  our  repentance,  our 
faith,  our  virtue  are  preparing  us — whether  we  think  it 
or  not — for  happiness  or  misery  hereafter.  It  is  this 
more  than  anything  that  gives  such  a  solemn  character 
to  the  occupations  of  life.  They  are  the  lessons  for  a 
higher  life.  They  are  an  education — a  discipline  for 
hereafter.  This  is  their  highest  meaning. 

Let  young  men  remember  the  essential  bearing  of 
the  present  upon  the  future.  In  beginning  life  let  them 
remember  the  end  of  it,  and  how  it  will  be  at  the  end 
as  it  has  been  throughout.  All  will  be  summed  up  to 
this  point ;  and  the  future  and  the  eternal  will  take 
their  character  from  the  present  and  the  temporary. 
"  He  that  is  unjust,  let  him  be  unjust  still  :  and  he 
which  is  filthy,  let  him  be  filthy  still  :  and  he  that  is 
righteous,  let  him  be  righteous  still :  and  he  that  is 
holy,  let  him  be  holy  still."  The  threads  of  our  moral 
history  run  on  in  unbroken  continuity.  The  shadow  of 
death  may  cover  them  from  the  sight ;  but  they  emerge 
in  the  world  beyond  in  like  order  as  they  were  here. 


155 


SUCCESS  AND  HAPPINESS. 


Make  your  present  life,  therefore,  a  preparation  for 
death  and  the  life  to  come.  Make  it  such  by  embrac- 
ing now  the  light  and  love  of  God  your  Father — by 
doing  the  work  of  Christ  your  Saviour  and  Master — 
by  using  the  world  without  abusing  it — by  seeking  in 
all  your  duties,  studies,  and  enjoyments,  to  become 
meet  for  a  "  better  country,  that  is,  an  heavenly."  To 
the  youngest  among  you  the  time  may  be  short.  The 
summons  to  depart  may  come  in  "  a  day  and  an  hour 
when  you  think  not."  Happy  then  the  young  man 
whose  Lord  shall  find  him  waiting — working — looking 
even  from  the  portals  of  an  opening  life  here  to  the 
gates  of  that  celestial  inheritance  "  incorruptible  and 
undefiled,  and  that  fadeth  not  awayl" — Tulloch. 


HRIFT 


THRIFT. 


INDUSTRY. 

"Not  what  I  have,  but  what  I  do,  is  my  kingdom." —  Carlyle. 

"  Productive  industry  is  the  only  capital  which  enriches  a  people,  and  spreads 
national  prosperity  and  well-being.  In  all  labor  there  is  profit,  says  Solomon. 
What  is  the  science  of  Political  Economy,  but  a  dull  sermo'n  on  this  text?  "  — 
Samuel  Laing. 

"  God  provides  the  good  things  of  the  world  to  serve  the  needs  of  nature,  by 
the  labors  of  the  ploughman,  the  skill  and  pains  of  the  artizan,  and  the  dangers 
and  traffic  of  the  merchant.  .  .  .  The  idle  person  is  like  one  that  is  dead,  uncon- 
cerned in  the  changes  and  necessities  of  the  world ;  and  he  only  lives  to  spend 
his  time,  and  eat  the  fruits  of  the  earth  :  like  a  vermin  or  a  wolf,  when  their 
time  comes  they  die  and  perish,  and  in  the  meantime  do  no  good. "  —  Jeremy 
Taylor. 

"  For  the  structure  that  we  raise, 
Time  is  with  materials  filled ; 
Our  to-days  and  yesterdays 

Are  the  blocks  with  which  we  build."  — Longfellow. 

began  with  civilization.    It  began  when 
men  found  it  necessary  to  provide  for  to-mor- 
row, as  well  as  for  to-day.     It  began  long  be- 
fore money  was  invented. 

Thrift  means  private  economy.  It  includes  domes- 
tic economy,  as  well  as  the  order  and  management  of  a 
family. 

While  it  is  the  object  of  Private  Economy  to  create 
and  promote  the  well-being  of  individuals,  it  is  the 


POLITICAL  ECONOMY.  157 

ject  of  Political  Economy  to  create  and  increase  the 
wealth  of  nations. 

Private  and  public  wealth  have  the  same  origin. 
Wealth  is  obtained  by  labor ;  it  is  preserved  by  savings 
and  accumulations ;  and  it  is  increased  by  diligence 
and  perseverance. 

It  is  the  savings  of  individuals  which  compose  the 
wealth  —  in  other  words,  the  well-being  —  of  every 
nation.  On  the  other  hand,  it  is  the  wastefulness  of 
individuals  which  occasions  the  impoverishment  of 
states.  So  that  every  thrifty  person  may  be  regarded 
as  a  public  benefactor,  and  every  thriftless  person  as  a 
public  enemy. 

There  is  no  dispute  as  to  the  necessity  for  Private 
Economy.  Everybody  admits  it,  and  recommends  it. 
But  with  respect  to  Political  Economy,  there  are  nume- 
rous discussions,  —  for  instance,  as  to  the  distribution 
of  capital,  the  accumulations  of  property,  the  incidence 
of  taxation,  the  Poor  Laws,  and  other  subjects,  —  into 
which  we  do  not  propose  to  enter.  The  subject  of 
Private  Economy,  of  Thrift,  is  quite  sufficient  by  itself 
to  occupy  the  pages  of  this  book. 

Economy  is  not  a  natural  instinct,  but  the  growth  of 
experience,  example,  and  forethought.  It  is  also  the 
result  of  education  and  intelligence.  It  is  only  when 
men  become  wise  and  thoughtful  that  they  become 


158  PRIVATE  ECONOMY. 

• 

frugal.  Hence  the  best  means  of  making  men  and 
women  provident  is  to  make  them  wise. 

Prodigality  is  much  more  natural  to  man  than  thrift, 
The  savage  is  the  greatest  of  spendthrifts,  for  he  has 
no  forethought,  no  to-morrow.  The  prehistoric  man 
saved  nothing.  He  lived  in  caves,  or  in  hollows  of  the 
ground  covered  with  branches.  He  subsisted  on  shell- 
fish which  he  picked  up  on  the  seashore,  or  upon  nuts 
which  he  gathered  in  the  woods.  He  killed  animals 
with  stones.  He  lay  in  wait  for  them,  or  ran  them 
down  on  foot.  Then  he  learnt  to  use  stones  as  tools  j 
making  stone  arrow-heads  and  spear-points,  thereby 
utilizing  his  labor,  and  killing  birds  and  animals  more 
quickly. 

The  original  savage  knew  nothing  of  agriculture.  It 
was  only  in  comparatively  recent  times  that  men  gath- 
ered seeds  for  food,  and  saved  a  portion  of  them  for 
next  year's  crop.  When  minerals  were  discovered,  and 
fire  was  applied  to  them,  and  the  minerals  were  smelted 
into  metal,  man  made  an  immense  stride.  He  could 
then  fabricate  hard  tools,  chisel  stone,  build  houses, 
and  proceed  by  unwearying  industry  to  devise  the  man- 
ifold means  and  agencies  of  civilization. 

The  dweller  by  the  ocean  burnt  a  hollow  in  a  felled 
tree,  launched  it,  went  to  sea  in  it,  and  fished  for  food. 
The  hollowed  tree  became  a  boat,  held  together  with 


USEFUL  LABORS.  159 

iron  nails.  The  boat  became  a  galley,  a  ship,  a  paddle- 
boat,  a  screw  steamer,  and  the  world  was  opened  up  for 
colonization  and  civilization. 

Man  would  have  continued  uncivilized,  but  for  the 
results  of  the  useful  labors  of  those  who  preceded  him. 
The  soil  was  reclaimed  by  his  predecessors,  and  made 
to  grow  food  for  human  uses.  They  invented  tools  and 
fabrics,  and  we  reap  the  useful  results.  They  discov- 
ered art  and  science,  and  we  succeed  to  the  useful  ef- 
fects of  their  labors. 

All  nature  teaches  that  no  good  thing  which  has  once 
been  done  passes  utterly  away.  The  living  are  ever 
reminded  of  the  buried  millions  who  have  worked  and 
won  before  them.  The  handicraft  and  skill  displayed 
in  the  buildings  and  sculptors  of  the  long-lost  cities  of 
Nineveh,  Babylon,  and  Troy,  have  descended  to  the 
present  time.  In  nature's  economy,  no  human  labor  is 
altogether  lost.  Some  remnant  of  useful  effect  contin- 
ues to  reward  the  race,  if  not  the  individual. 

The  mere  material  wealth  bequeathed  to  us  by  our 
forefathers  forms  but  an  insignificant  item  in  the  sum 
of  our  inheritance.  Our  birthright  is  made  up  of  some- 
thing far  more  imperishable.  It  consists  of  the  sum  of 
the  useful  effects  of  human  skill  and  labor.  These  ef- 
fects were  not  transmitted  by  learning,  but  by  teaching 
and  example.  One  generation  taught  another,  and  thus 


I6O  OUR  BIRTHRIGHT. 

art  and  handicraft,  the  knowledge  of  mechanical  appli- 
ances and  materials,  continued  to  be  preserved.  The 
labors  and  efforts  of  former  generations  were  thus  trans- 
mitted by  father  to  son  ;  and  they  continue  to  form  the 
natural  heritage  of  the  human  race  —  one  of  the  most 
important  instruments  of  civilization. 

Our  birthright,  therefore,  consists  in  the  useful  effects 
of  the  labors  of  our  forefathers  ;  but  we  cannot  enjoy 
them  unless  we  ourselves  take  part  in  the  work.  All 
must  labor,  either  with  hand  or  head.  Without  work, 
life  is  worthless  ;  it  becomes  a  mere  state  of  moral 
coma.  We  do  not  mean  merely  physical  work.  There 
is  a  great  deal  of  higher  work  —  the  work  of  action  and 
endurance,  of  trial  and  patience,  of  enterprise  and  phi- 
lanthropy, of  spreading  truth  and  civilization,  of  dimin- 
ishing suffering  and  relieving  the  poor,  of  helping  the 
weak,  and  enabling  them  to  help  themselves. 

"  A  noble  heart,"  says  Barrow,  "  will  disdain  to  sub- 
sist, like  a  drone,  upon  others'  labors ;  like  a  vermin  to 
filch  its  food  out  of  the  public  granary  ;  or,  like  a  shark, 
to  prey  upon  the  lesser  fry  ;  but  it  will  rather  outdo  his 
private  obligations  to  other  men's  care  and  toil,  by  con- 
siderable service  and  beneficence  to  the  public  ;  for 
there  is  no  calling  of  any  sort,  from  the  sceptre  to  the 
spade,  the  management  whereof,  with  any  good  suc- 
cess, any  credit,  any  satisfaction,  doth  not  demand 
much  work  of  the  head,  or  of  the  hands,  or  of  both." 


RESULTS   OF  LABOR.  l6l 

Labor  is  not  only  a  necessity,  but  it  is  also  a  pleas- 
ure. What  would  otherwise  be  a  curse,  by  the  consti- 
tution of  our  physical  system  becomes  a  blessing.  Our 
life  is  a  conflict  with  nature  in  some  respects,  but  it  is 
also  a  cooperation  with  nature  in  others.  The  sun,  the 
air,  and  the  earth  are  constantly  abstracting  from  us 
our  vital  forces.  Hence  we  eat  and  drink  for  nourish- 
ment, and  clothe  ourselves  for  warmth. 

Nature  works  with  us.  She  provides  the  earth  which 
we  furrow  j  she  grows  and  ripens  the  seeds  that  we 
sow  and  gather.  She  furnishes,  with  the  help  of  hu- 
man labor,  the  wool  that  we  spin  and  the  food  that  we 
eat.  And  it  ought  never  to  be  forgotten,  that  however 
rich  or  poor  we  may  be,  all  that  we  eat,  all  that  we  are 
clothed  with,  all  that  shelters  us,  from  the  palace  to  the 
cottage,  is  the  result  of  labor. 

Men  cooperate  with  each  other  for  the  mutual  suste- 
nance of  all.  The  husbandman  tills  the  ground  and 
provides  food  ;  the  manufacturer  weaves  tissues,  which 
the  tailor  and  seamstress  make  into  clothes;  the  mason 
and  the  bricklayer  build  the  houses  in  which  we  enjoy 
household  life.  Numbers  of  workmen  thus  contribute 
and  help  to  create  the  general  result. 

Labor  and  skill  applied  to  the  vulgarest  things  invest 
them  at  once  with  precious  value.  Labor  is  indeed  the 
life  of  humanity ;  take  it  away,  banish  it,  and  the  race 
ii 


l62  RESULTS   OF   LABOR. 

of  Adam  were  at  once  stricken  with  death.  "  He  that 
will  not  work,"  said  St.  Paul,  "neither  shall  he  eat;  " 
and  the  apostle  glorified  himself  in  that  he  had  labored 
with  his  own  hands,  and  had  not  been  chargeable  to 
any  man. 

There  is  a  well-known  story  of  an  old  farmer  calling 
his  three  idle  sons  around  him  when  on  his  death-bed, 
to  impart  to  them  an  important  secret.  "  My  sons," 
said  he,  "  a  great  treasure  lies  hid  in  the  estate  which 
I  am  about  to  leave  to  you."  The  old  man  gasped. 
"  Where  is  it  hid  ?"  exclaimed  the  sons  in  a  breath. 
"  I  am  about  to  tell  you,"  said  the  old  man  ;  "you  will 
have  to  dig  for  it "but  his  breath  failed  him  be- 
fore he  could  impart  the  weighty  secret ;  and  he  died. 
Forthwith  the  sons  set  to  work  with  spade  and  mattock 
upon  the  long  neglected  fields,  and  they  turned  up 
every  sod  and  clod  upon  the  estate.  They  discovered 
no  treasure,  but  they  learnt  to  work  :  and  when  the 
fields  were  sown,  and  the  harvests  came,  lo  !  the  yield 
was  prodigious,  in  consequence  of  the  thorough  tillage 
which  they  had  undergone.  Then  it  was  that  they  dis- 
covered the  treasure  concealed  in  the  estate,  of  which 
their  wise  old  father  had  advised  them. 

Labor  is  at  once  a  burden,  a  chastisement,  an  honor, 
and  a  pleasure.  It  may  be  identified  with  poverty,  but 
there  is  also  glory  in  it.  It  bears  witness,  at  the  same 


NECESSITY   FOR   LABOR.  163 

time,  to  our  natural  wants  and  to  our  manifold  needs. 
What  were  man,  what  were  life,  what  were  civilization, 
without  labor  ?  All  that  is  great  in  man  comes  of  labor ; 
—  greatness  in  art,  in  literature,  in  science.  Knowl- 

o  7  ' 

edge  —  "  the  wing  wherewith  we  fly  to  heaven  "  —  is 
only  acquired  through  labor.  Genius  is  but  a  capabil- 
ity of  laboring  intensely :  it  is  the  power  of  making 
great  and  sustained  efforts.  Labor  may  be  a  chastise- 
ment, but  it  is  indeed  a  glorious  one.  It  is  worship, 
duty,  praise,  and  immortality,  —  for  those  who  labor 
with  the  highest  aims,  and  for  the  purest  purposes. 

There  are  many  who  murmur  and  complain  at  the 
law  of  labor  under  which  we  live,  without  reflecting  that 
obedience  to  it  is  not  only  in  conformity  with  the  Di- 
vine will,  but  also  necessary  for  the  development  of 
intelligence,  and  for  the  thorough  enjoyment  of  our 
common  nature.  Of  all  wretched  men,  surely  the  idle 
are  the  most  so  ; —  those  whose  life  is  barren  of  utility, 
who  have  nothing  to  do  except  to  gratify  their  senses. 
Are  not  such  men  the  most  querulous,  miserable,  and 
dissatisfied  of  all,  constantly  in  a  state  of  ennui,  alike 
useless  to  themselves  and  to  others  —  mere  cumberers 
of  the  earth,  who  when  removed  are  missed  by  none, 

% 

and  whom  none  regret  ?  Most  wretched  and  ignoble 
lot,  indeed,  is  the  lot  of  the  idlers. 

Who  have  helped  the  world  onward  so  much  as  the 


164  INDUSTRY   AND   INTELLECT. 

workers ;  men  who  have  had  to  work  for  necessity  or 
from  choice  ?  All  that  we  call  progress  —  civilization, 
well-being,  and  prosperity  —  depends  upon  industry, 
diligently  applied,  —  from  the  culture  of  a  barley-stalk 
to  the  construction  of  a  steamship,  —  from  the  stitching 
of  a  collar  to  the  sculpturing  of  "  the  statue  that  en- 
chants the  world." 

All  useful  and  beautiful  thoughts,  in  like  manner,  are 
the  issue  of  labor,  of  study,  of  observation,  of  research, 
of  diligent  elaboration.  The  noblest  poem  cannot  be 
elaborated,  and  send  down  its  undying  strains  into  the 
future,  without  steady  and  painstaking  labor.  No 
great  work  has  ever  been  done  "at  a  heat."  It  is  the 
result  of  repeated  efforts,  and  often  of  many  failures. 
One  generation  begins,  and  another  continues  —  the 
present  cooperating  with  the  past.  Thus,  the  Parthe- 
non began  with  a  mud-hut ;  the  Last  Judgment  with  a 
few  scratches  on  the  sand.  It  is  the  same  with  indi- 
viduals of  the  race ;  they  begin  with  abortive  efforts, 
which,  by  means  of  perseverance,  lead  to  successful 
issues. 

The  history  of  industry  is  uniform  in  the  character  of 
its  illustrations.  Industry  enables  the  poorest  man  to 
achieve  honor,  if  not  distinction.  The  greatest  names 
in  the  history  of  art,  literature,  and  science,  are  those 
of  laboring  men.  A  working  instrument-maker  gave  us 


THRIFT   AND   CIVILIZATION.  165 

the  steam-engine  ;  a  barber,  the  spinning-machine ;  a 
weaver,  the  mule  ;  a  pitman  perfected  the  locomotive  i 
—  and  working  men  of  all  grades  have,  one  after  an- 
other, added  to  the  triumphs  of  mechanical  skill. 

By  the  working  man,  we  do  not  mean  merely  the 
man  who  labors  with  his  muscles  and  sinews.  A 
horse  can  do  this.  But  he  is  preeminently  the  work- 
ing man  who  works  with  his  brain  also,  and  whose 
whole  physical  system  is  under  the  influence  of  his 
higher  faculties.  The  man  who  paints  a  picture,  who 
writes  a  book,  who  makes  a  law,  who  creates  a  poem, 
is  a  working  man  of  the  highest  order,  —  not  so  neces- 
sary to  the  physical  sustainment  of  the  community  as 
the  ploughman  or  the  shepherd  ;  but  not  less  import- 
ant as  providing  for  society  its  highest  intellectual 
nourishment. 

Having  said  so  much  of  the  importance  and  the 
necessity  of  industry,  let  us  see  what  uses  are  made 
of  the  advantages  derivable  from  it.  It  is  clear  that 
man  would  have  continued  uncivilized  but  for  the  ac- 
cumulations of  savings  made  by  his  forefathers,  —  the 
savings  of  skill,  of  art,  of  invention,  and  of  intellectual 
culture. 

It  is  the  savings  of  the  world  that  have  made  the 
civilization  of  the  world.  Savings  are  the  result  of 
labor ;  and  it  is  only  when  laborers  begin  to  save,  that 


166  THRIFTY   INDUSTRY. 

the  results  of  civilization  accumulate.  We  have  said 
that  thrift  began  with  civilization :  we  might  almost 
have  said  that  thrift  produced  civilization.  Thrift  pro- 
duces capital ;  and  capital  is  the  conserved  result  of 
labor.  The  capitalist  is  merely  a  man  who  does  not 
spend  all  that  is  earned  by  work. 

But  thrift  is  not  a  natural  instinct.  It  is  an  acquired 
principle  of  conduct.  It  involves  self-denial  —  the  de- 
nial of  present  enjoyment  for  future  good  —  the  subor- 
dination of  animal  appetite  to  reason,  forethought,  and 
prudence.  It  works  for  to-day,  but  also  provides  for 
to-morrow.  It  invests  the  capital  it  has  saved,  and 
makes  provision  for  the  future. 

"  Man's  right  of  seeing  the  future,"  says  Mr.  Edward 
Denison,  "  which  is  conferred  on  him  by  reason,  has 
attached  to  it  the  duty  of  providing  for  that  future  ; 
and  our  language  bears  witness  to  this  truth  by  using, 
as  expressive  of  active  precaution  against  future  want, 
a  word  which  in  its  radical  meaning  implies  only  a 
passive  foreknowledge  of  the  same.  Whenever  we 
speak  of  the  virtue  of  providence,  we  assume  that  fore- 
warned is  fore-armed.  To  know  the  future  is  no  vir- 
tue, but  it  is  the  greatest  of  virtues  to  prepare  for 
it." J 

But  a  large  proportion  of  men  do  not  provide  for  the 

1  Letters  of  the  late  Edward  Denison. 


THRIFTY   INDUSTRY.  l6/ 

future.  They  do  not  remember  the  past.  They  think 
only  of  the  present.  They  preserve  nothing.  They 
spend  all  that  they  earn.  They  do  not  provide  for 
themselves  :  they  do  not  provide  for  their  families. 
They  may  make  high  wages,  but  eat  and  drink  the 
whole  of  what  they  earn.  Such  people  are  constantly 
poor,  and  hanging  on  the  verge  of  destitution. 

It  is  the  same  with  nations.  The  nations  which  con- 
sume all  that  they  produce,  without  leaving  a  store  for 
future  production,  have  no  capital.  Like  thriftless  in- 
dividuals, they  live  from  hand  to  mouth,  and  are  always 
poor  and  miserable.  Nations  that  have  no  capital, 
have  no  commerce.  They  have  no  accumulations  to 
dispose  of ;  hence  they  have  no  ships,  no  sailors,  no 
docks,  no  harbors,  no  canals,  and  no  railways.  Thrifty 
industry  lies  at  the  root  of  the  civilization  of  the  world. 

Look  at  Spain.  There,  the  richest  soil  is  the  least 
productive.  Along  the  banks  of  the  Guadalquivir, 
where  once  twelve  thousand  villages  existed,  there  are 
now  not  eight  hundred  ;  and  they  are  full  of  beggars. 
A  Spanish  proverb  says,  "  El  cielo  y  suelo  es  bueno,  el 
entresuelo  malo  "  —  The  sky  is  good,  the  earth  is 
good ;  that  only  is  bad  which  lies  between  the  sky  and 
the  earth.  Continuous  effort,  or  patient  labor,  is  for 
the  Spaniard  an  insupportable  thing.  Half  through 
indolence,  half  through  pride,  he  cannot  bend  to  work. 


168  THRIFTY   ECONOMY. 

A  Spaniard  will  blush  to  work  ;  he  will  not  blush  to 
beg ! l 

It  is  in  this  way  that  society  mainly  consists  of  two 
classes  —  the  savers  and  the  wasters,  the  provident  and 
the  improvident,  the  thrifty  and  the  thriftless,  the 
Haves  and  the  Have-nots. 

The  men  who  economize  by  means  of  labor  become 
the  owners  of  capital  which  sets  other  labor  in  motion. 
Capital  accumulates  in  their  hands,  and  they  employ 
other  laborers  to  work  for  them.  Thus  trade  and  com- 
merce begin. 

The  thrifty  build  houses,  warehouses,  and  mills. 
They  fit  manufactories  with  tools  and  machines.  They 
build  ships,  and  send  them  to  various  parts  of  the 
world.  They  put  their  capital  together,  and  build 
railroads,  harbors,  and  docks.  They  open  up  mines 
of  coal,  iron,  and  copper ;  and  erect  pumping  engines 
to  keep  them  clear  of  water.  They  employ  laborers 
to  work  the  mines,  and  thus  give  rise  to  an  immense 
amount  of  employment. 

All  this  is  the  result  of  thrift.  It  is  the  result  of 
economizing  money,  and  employing  it  for  beneficial 
purposes.  The  thriftless  man  has  no  share  in  the 
progress  of  the  world.  He  spends  all  that  he  gets, 
and  can  give  no  help  to  anybody.  No  matter  how 

1  EUGENE  Porrou  —  Spain  and  its  People. 


HABITS    OF  THRIFT.  169 

much  money  he  makes,  his  position  is  not  in  any  re- 
spect raised.  He  husbands  none  of  his  resources.  He 
is  always  calling  for  help.  He  is,  in  fact,  the  born 
thrall  and  slave  of  the  thrifty. 


HABITS  OF  THRIFT. 

"  Die  Hauptsache  ist  dass  man  lerne  sich  selbst  zu  beherrschen."  [The  great 
matter  is  to  learn  to  rule  one's  self.]  —  Goethe. 

"  Most  men  work  for  the  present,  a  few  for  the  future.  The  wise  work  for 
both  —  for  the  future  in  the  pres|nt,  and  for  the  present  in  the  future."  —  Guesses 
at  Truth. 

"  The  secret  of  all  success  is  to  know  how  to  deny  yourself.  ...  If  you  once 
learn  to  get  the  whip-hand  of  yourself,  that  is  the  best  educator.  Prove  to  me 
that  you  can  control  yourself,  and  I  '11  say  you  're  an  educated  man ;  and  with- 
out this,  all  other  education  is  good  for  next  to  nothing."  —  Mrs.  Oliphant, 

"All  the  world  cries,  '  Where  is  the  man  who  will  save  us  ?  We  want  a  man  ! 
Don't  look  so  far  for  this  man.  You  have  him  at  hand.  This  man  —  it  is  you, 
it  is  I,  it  is  each  one  of  us  !  .  .  .  How  to  constitute  one's  self  a  man?  Nothing 
harder,  if  one  knows  not  how  to  will  it;  nothing  easier,  if  one  wills  it."  —  Alex- 
andre  Dumas. 

COMPETENCE  and  comfort  lie  within  the  reach  of 
most  people,  were  they  to  take  the  adequate  means  to 
secure  and  enjoy  them.  Men  who  are  paid  good  wages 
might  also  become  capitalists,  and  take  their  fair  share 
in  the  improvement  and  well-being  of  the  world.  But 
it  is  only  by  the  exercise  of  labor,  energy,  honesty,  and 
thrift,  that  they  can  advance  their  own  position  or  that 
of  their  class. 

Society  at  present  suffers  far  more  from  waste  of 
money  than  from  want  of  money.  It  is  easier  to  make 


I/O  WORKMEN  AND  CAPITAL. 

money  than  to  know  how  to  spend  it.  It  is  not  what  a 
man  gets  that  constitutes  his  wealth,  but  his  manner  of 
spending  and  economizing.  And  when  a  man  obtains 
by  his  labor  more  than  enough  for  his  personal  and 
family  wants,  and  can  lay  by  a  little  store  of  savings 
besides,  he  unquestionably  possesses  the  elements  of 
social  well-being.  The  savings  may  amount  to  little, 
but  they  may  be  sufficient  to  make  him  independent. 

There  is  no  reason  why  the  highly-paid  workman  of 
to-day  may  not  save  a  store  of  capital.  It  is  merely  a 
matter  of  self-denial  and  private  economy.  Indeed, 
the  principal  industrial  leaders  of  to-day  consist,  for  the 
most  part,  of  men  who  have  sprung  directly  from  the 
ranks.  It  is  the  accumulation  of  experience  and  skill 
that  makes  the  difference  between  the  workman  and 
the  720-workman ;  and  it  depends  upon  the  workman 
himself  whether  he  will  save  his  capital  or  waste  it.  If 
he  save  it,  he  will  always  find  that  he  has  sufficient  op- 
portunities for  employing  it  profitably  and  usefully. 

Thrift  of  Time  is  equal  to  thrift  of  money.  Franklin 
said,  "  Time  is  gold."  If  one  wishes  to  earn  money, 
it  may  be  done  by  the  proper  use  of  time.  But  time 
may  also  be  spent  in  doing  many  good  and  noble  ac- 
tions. It  may  be  spent  in  learning,  in  study,  in  art,  in 
science,  in  literature.  Time  can  be  economized  by  sys- 
tem. System  is  an  arrangement  to  secure  certain  ends, 


HABITS   OF   ECONOMY.  I /I 

so  that  no  time  may  be  lost  in  accomplishing  them. 
Every  business  man  must  be  systematic  and  orderly. 
So  must  every  housewife.  There  must  be  a  place  for 
everything,  and  everything  in  its  place.  There  must 
also  be  a  time  for  everything,  and  everything  must  be 
done  in  time. 

It  is  not  necessary  to  show  that  economy  is  useful. 
Nobody  denies  that  thrift  may  be  practised.  We  see 
numerous  examples  of  it.  What  many  men  have  al- 
ready done,  all  other  men  may  do.  Nor  is  thrift  a  pain- 
ful virtue.  On  the  contrary,  it  enables  us  to  avoid 
much  contempt  and  many  indignities.  It  requires  us 
to  deny  ourselves,  but  not  to  abstain  from  any  proper 
enjoyment.  It  provides  many  honest  pleasures,  of 
which  thriftlessness  and  extravagance  deprive  us. 

Thrift  does  not  require  superior  courage,  nor  supe- 
rior intellect,  nor  any  superhuman  virtue.  It  merely 
requires  common  sense,  and  the  power  of  resisting  self- 
ish enjoyments.  In  fact,  thrift  is  merely  common  sense 
in  every-day  working  action.  It  needs  no  fervent  res- 
olution, but  only  a  little  patient  self-denial.  BEGIN  is 
its  device  !  The  more  the  habit  of  thrift  is  practised, 
the  easier  it  becomes ;  and  the  sooner  it  compensates 
the  self-denier  for  the  sacrifices  which  it  has  imposed. 

The  question  may  be  asked,  —  Is  it  possible  for  a 
man  working  for  small  wages  to  save  anything,  and  lay 


SELF-INDULGENCE. 

it  by  in  a  savings  bank,  when  he  requires  every  penny 
for  the  maintenance  of  his  family  ?  But  the  fact  re- 
mains, that  it  is  done  by  many  industrious  and  sober 
men ;  that  they  do  deny  themselves,  and  put  their 
spare  earnings  into  savings  banks,  and  the  other  recep- 
tacles provided  for  poor  men's  savings.  And  if  some 
can  do  this,  all  may  do  it  under  similar  circumstances, 
—  without  depriving  themselves  of  any  genuine  pleas- 
ure, or  any  real  enjoyment. 

How  intensely  selfish  it  is  for  a  person  in  the  receipt 
of  good  pay  to  spend  everything  upon  himself,  —  or,  if 
he  has  a  family,  to  spend  his  whole  earnings  from  week 
to  week,  and  lay  nothing  by.  When  we  hear  that  a 
man,  who  has  been  in  the  receipt  of  a  good  salary,  has 
died  and  left  nothing  behind  him  —  that  he  has  left  his 
wife  and  family  destitute  —  left  them  to  chance  —  to 
live  or  perish  anywhere,  —  we  cannot  but  regard  it  as 
the  most  selfish  thriftlessness.  And  yet,  comparatively 
little  is  thought  of  such  cases.  Perhaps  the  hat  goes 
round.  Subscriptions  may  produce  something  —  per- 
haps nothing ;  and  the  ruined  remnants  of  the  unhappy 
family  sink  into  poverty  and  destitution. 

Yet  the  merest  prudence  would,  to  a  great  extent, 
have  obviated  this  result.  The  curtailment  of  any  sen- 
sual and  selfish  enjoyment  —  of  a  glass  of  beer  or  a 
plug  of  tobacco  —  would  enable  a  man,  in  the  course 


RESULTS   OF  THRIFTLESSNESS. 

of  years,  to  save  at  least  something  for  others,  instead 
of  wasting  it  on  himself.  It  is,  in  fact,  the  absolute 
duty  of  the  poorest  man  to  provide,  in  however  slight  a 
degree,  for  the  support  of  himself  and  his  family  in  the 
season  of  sickness  and  helplessness  which  often  comes 
upon  men  when  they  least  expect  such  a  visitation. 

Comparatively  few  people  can  be  rich  ;  but  most 
have  it  in  their  power  to  acquire,  by  industry  and  econ- 
omy, sufficient  to  meet  their  personal  wants.  They 
may  even  become  the  possessors  of  savings  sufficient 
to  secure  them  against  penury  and  poverty  in  their  old 
age.  It  is  not,  however,  the  want  of  opportunity,  but 
the  want  of  will  that  stands  in  the  way  of  economy. 
Men  may  labor  unceasingly  with  hand  or  head ;  but 
they  cannot  abstain  from  spending  too  freely,  and  liv- 
ing too  highly. 

The  majority  prefer  the  enjoyment  of  pleasure  to 
the  practice  of  self-denial.  With  the  mass  of  men,  the 
animal  is  paramount.  They  often  spend  all  that  they 
earn.  But  it  is  not  merely  the  working  people  who 
are  spendthrifts.  We  hear  of  men  who  for  years  have 
been  earning  and  spending  hundreds  and  thousands  a 
year,  who  suddenly  die,  —  leaving  their  children  penni- 
less. Everybody  knows  of  such  cases.  At  their  death, 
the  very  furniture  of  the  house  they  have  lived  in  be- 
longs to  others.  It  is  sold  to  pay  their  funeral  ex- 


1/4  USES   OF   SAVED  MONEY. 

penses  and  the  debts  which  they  have  incurred  during 
their  thriftless  lifetime. 

Money  represents  a  multitude  of  objects  without 
value,  or  without  real  utility  ;  but  it  also  represents 
something  much  more  precious, —  and  that  is  independ- 
ence. In  this  light  it  is  of  great  moral  importance. 

As  a  guarantee  of  independence,  the  modest  and 
plebeian  quality  of  economy  is  at  once  ennobled  and 
raised  to  the  rank  of  one  of  the  most  meritorious  of 
virtues.  "  Never  treat  money  affairs  with  levity,"  said 
Bulwer ;  "  Money  is  Character."  Some  of  man's  best 
qualities  depend  upon  the  right  use  of  money,  —  such 
as  his  generosity,  benevolence,  justice,  honesty,  and 
forethought.  Many  of  his  worst  qualities  also  origi- 
nate in  the  bad  use  of  money,  —  such  as  greed,  miser- 
liness, injustice,  extravagance,  and  improvidence. 

No  class  ever  accomplished  anything  that  lived  from 
hand  to  mouth.  People  who  spend  all  that  they  earn, 
are  ever  hanging  on  the  brink  of  destitution.  They 
must  necessarily  be  weak  and  impotent — the  slaves 
of  time  and  circumstance.  They  keep  themselves 
poor.  They  lose  self-respect,  as  well  as  the  respect 
of  others.  It  is  impossible  that  they  can  be  free  and 
independent.  To  be  thriftless  is  enough  to  deprive 
one  of  all  manly  spirit  and  virtue. 

But  a  man   with   something  saved,   no  matter   how 


USES  OF  SAVED  MONEY.         175 

little,  is  in  a  different  position.  The  little  capital  he 
has  stored  up  is  always  a  source  of  power.  He  is  no 
longer  the  sport  of  time  and  fate.  He  can  boldly  look 
the  world  in  the  face.  He  is,  in  a  manner,  his  own 
.master.  He  can  dictate  his  own  terms.  He  can 
neither  be  bought  nor  sold.  He  can  look  forward  with 
cheerfulness  to  an  old  age  of  comfort  and  happiness. 

As  men  become  wise  and  thoughtful,  they  generally 
become  provident  and  frugal.  A  thoughtless  man, 
like  a  savage,  spends  as  he  gets,  thinking  nothing  of 
to-morrow,  of  the  time  of  adversity,  or  of  the  claims 
of  those  whom  he  has  made  dependent  on  him.  But  a 
wise  man  thinks  of  the  future  j  he  prepares  in  good 
time  for  the  evil  day  that  may  come  upon  him  and  his 
family ;  and  he  provides  carefully  for  those  who  are 
near  and  dear  to  him. 

What  a  serious  responsibility  does  the  man  incur 
who  marries  !  Not  many  seriously  think  of  this  re- 
sponsibility. Perhaps  this  is  wisely  ordered.  For, 
much  serious  thinking  might  end  in  the  avoidance  of 
married  life  and  its  responsibilities.  But,  once  mar- 
ried, a  man  ought  forthwith  to  determine  that,  so  far 
as  his  own  efforts  are  concerned,  want  shall  never  enter 
his  household  ;  and  that  his  children  shall  not,  in  the 
event  of  his  being  removed  from  the  scene  of  life  and 
labor,  be  left  a  burden  upon  society. 


176  EXTRAVAGANT  LIVING. 

Economy   with    this    object   is    an    important    duty. 

• 

Without  economy,  no  man  can  be  just  —  no  man  can 
be  honest.  Improvidence  is  cruelty  to  women  and 
children  ;  though  the  cruelty  is  born  of  ignorance.  A 
father  spends  his  surplus  means  in  drink,  providing 
little,  and  saving  nothing ;  and  then  he  dies,  leaving  his 
destitute  family  his  lifelong  victims.  Can  any  form  of 
cruelty  surpass  this  ?  Yet  this  reckless  course  is  pur- 
sued to  a  large  extent  among  every  class.  The  middle 
and  upper  classes  are  equally  guilty  with  the  lower 
class.  They  live  beyond  their  means.  They  live  ex- 
travagantly. They  are  ambitious  of  glare  and  glitter  — 
frivolity  and  pleasure.  They  struggle  to  be  rich,  that 
they  may  have  the  means  of  spending,  —  of  drinking 
rich  wines,  and  giving  good  dinners. 

When  Mr.  Hume  said  in  the  House  of  Commons, 
some  years  ago,  that  the  tone  of  living  in  England  was 
altogether  too  high,  his  observation  was  followed  with 
"  loud  laughter."  Yet  his  remark  was  perfectly  true. 
It  is  far  more  true  now  than  it  was  then.  Thinking 
people  believe  that  life  is  now  too  fast,  and  that  we  are 
living  at  high-pressure.  In  short,  we  live  extrava- 
gantly. We  live  beyond  our  means.  -We  throw  away 
our  earnings,  and  often  throw  our  lives  after  them. 

Many  persons  are  diligent  enough  in  making  money, 
but  do  not  know  how  to  economize  it,  —  or  how  to 


BARGAIN-BUYING.  177 

spend  it.  They  have  sufficient  skill  and  industry  to  do 
the  one,  but  they  want  the  necessary  wisdom  to  do  the 
other.  The  temporary  passion  for  enjoyment  seizes  us, 
and  we  give  way  to  it  without  regard  to  consequences. 
And  yet  it  may  be  merely  the  result  of  forgetfulness, 
and  might  be  easily  controlled  by  firmness  of  will,  and 
by  Energetic  resolution  to  avoid  the  occasional  causes 
of  expenditure  for  the  future. 

The  habit  of  saving  arises,  for  the  most  part,  in  the 
desire  to  ameliorate  our  social  condition,  as  well  as  to 
ameliorate  the  condition  of  those  who  are  dependent 
upon  us.  It  dispenses  with  everything  which  is  not 
essential,  and  avoids  all  methods  of  living  that  are 
wasteful  and  extravagant.  A  purchase  made  at  the 
lowest  price  will  be  dear,  if  it  be  a  superfluity.  Little 
expenses  lead  to  great.  Buying  things  that  are  not 
wanted  soon  accustoms  us  to  prodigality  in  other  re- 
spects. 

Cicero  said,  "  Not  to  have  a  mania  for  buying,  is 
to  possess  a  revenue."  Many  are  carried  away  by  the 
habit  of  bargain-buying.  "  Here  is  something  won- 
derfully cheap  :  let  us  buy  it."  "  Have  you  any  use 
for  it  ? "  "  No,  not  at  present ;  but  it  is  sure  to  come  in 
useful,  some  time."  Fashion  runs  in  this  habit  of  buy- 
ing. Some  buy  old  china  * —  as  much  as  will  furnish  a 
china-shop.  Others  buy  old  pictures  —  old  furniture  — 

12 


178  THRIFT  AND   UNTHRIFT. 

all  great  bargains  !  There  would  be  little  harm  in 
buying  these  old  things,  if  they  were  not  so  often 
bought  at  the  expense  of  the  connoisseur's  creditors. 
Horace  Walpole  once  said,  "  I  hope  that  there  will 
not  be  another  sale,  for  I  have  not  an  inch  of  room 
nor  a  farthing  left." 

Men  must  prepare  in  youth  and  in  middle  age  the 
means  of  enjoying  old  age  pleasantly  and  happily. 
There  can  be  nothing  more  distressing  than  to  see  an 
old  man  who  has  spent  the  greater  part  of  his  life  in 
well-paid-for  labor,  reduced  to  the  necessity  of  begging 
for  bread,  and  relying  entirely  on  the  commiseration  of 
his  neighbors,  or  upon  the  bounty  of  strangers.  Such 
a  consideration  as  this  should  inspire  men  in  early  life 
with  a  determination  to  work  and  to  save,  for  the  ben- 
efit of  themselves  and  their  families  in  later  years. 

It  is,  in  fact,  in  youth  that  economy  should  be  prac- 
tised, and  in  old  age  that  men  should  dispense  liber- 
ally, provided  they  do  not  exceed  their  income.  The 
young  man  has  a  long  future  before  him,  during  which 
he  may  exercise  the  principles  of  economy  ;  whilst  the 
other  is  reaching  the  end  of  his  career,  and  can  carry 
nothing  out  of  the  world  with  him. 

This,  however,  is  not  the  usual  practice.  The  young 
man  now  spends,  or  desires  to  spend,  quite  as  liberally, 
and  often  much  more  liberally,  than  his  father,  who 


JOHNSON   ON   ECONOMY.  179 

is  about  to  end  his  career.  He  begins  life  where  his 
father  left  off.  He  spends  more  than  his  father  did  at 
his  age,  and  soon  finds  himself  up  to  his  ears  in  debt. 
To  satisfy  his  incessant  wants,  he  resorts  to  unscru- 
pulous means,  and  to  illicit  gains.  He  tries  to  make 
money  rapidly  ;  he  speculates,  over-trades,  and  is 
speedily  wound  up.  Thus  he  obtains  experience ;  but 
it  is  the  result,  not  of  well-doing,  but  of  ill-doing. 

Socrates  recommends  fathers  of  families  to  observe 
the  practice  of  their  thrifty  neighbors  —  of  those  who 
spend  their  means  to  the  best  advantage,  —  and  to 
profit  by  their  example.  Thrift  is  essentially  practical, 
and  can  best  be  taught  by  facts.  Two  men  earn,  say, 
two  dollars  a  day.  They  are  in  precisely  the  same  con^ 
dition  as  respects  family  living,  and  expenditure.  Yet 
the  one  says  he  cannot  save,  and  does  not ;  while  the 
other  says  he  can  save,  and  regularly  deposits  part  of 
his  savings  in  a  savings  bank,  and  eventually  becomes 
a  capitalist. 

Samuel  Johnson  fully  knew  the  straits  of  poverty. 
He  once  signed  his  name  Impransus,  or  Dinnerless. 
He  had  walked  the  streets  with  Savage,  not  knowing 
where  to  lay  his  head  at  night.  Johnson  never  forgot 
the  poverty  through  which  he  passed  in  his  early  life, 
and  he  was  always  counselling  his  friends  and  readers 
to  avoid  it.  Like  Cicero,  he  averred  that  the  best 


ISO  JOHNSON   ON   ECONOMY. 

source  of  wealth  or  well-being  was  economy.  He  called 
it  the  daughter  of  Prudence,  the  sister  of  Temperance, 
and  the  mother  of  Liberty. 

"Poverty,"  he. said,  "takes  away  so  many  means  of 
doing  good,  and  produces  so  much  inability  to  resist 
evil,  both  natural  and  moral,  that  it  is  by  all  virtuous 
means  to  be  avoided.  Resolve,  then,  not  to  be  poor ; 
whatever  you  have,  spend  less.  Frugality  is  not  only 
the  basis  of  quiet,  but  of  beneficence.  No  man  can 
help  others  who  wants  help  himself  ;  we  must  have 
enough  before  we  have  to  spare." 

And  again  he  said,  "  Poverty  is  a  great  enemy  to 
human  happiness.  It  certainly  destroys  liberty,  and 
it  makes  some  virtues  impracticable,  and  others  ex- 
tremely difficult.  ...  All  to  whom  want  is  terrible, 
upon  whatever  principle,  ought  to  think  themselves 
obliged  to  learn  the  sage  maxims  of  our  parsimonious 
ancestors,  and  attain  the  salutary  arts  of  contracting 
expense  •  for  without  economy  none  can  be  rich,  and 
with  it  few  can  be  poor." 

When  economy  is  looked  upon  as  a  thing  that  must 
be  practised,  it  will  never  be  felt  as  a  burden ;  and 
those  who  have  not  before  observed  it,  will  be  as- 
tonished to  find  what  a  few  dimes  or  quarters  laid 
aside  weekly,  will  do  towards  securing  moral  elevation, 
mental  culture,  and  personal  independence. 


SELF-RESPECT.  l8l 

There  is  a  dignity  in  every  attempt  to  economize. 
Its  very  practice  is  improving.  It  indicates  self-denial, 
and  imparts  strength  to  the  character.  It  produces  a 
well-regulated  mind.  It  fosters  temperance.  It  is 
based  on  forethought.  It  makes  prudence  the  domi- 
nating characteristic.  It  gives  virtue  the  mastery  over 
self-indulgence.  Above  all,  it  secures  comfort,  drives 
away  care,  and  dispels  many  vexations  and  anxieties 
which  might  otherwise  prey  upon  us. 

Some  will  say,  "  It  can't  be  done."  But  everybody 
can  do  something.  "  It  can't  "  is  the  ruin  of  men  and 
of  nations.  In  fact,  there  is  no  greater  cant  that  can't. 
Take  an  instance.  A  ten-cent  cigar  a  day  is  equal  to 
$36.50  a  year.  This  sum  will  insure  a  man's  life  for 
$2,000,  payable  at  death.  The  man  who  spends  twenty 
cents  a  day,  uselessly  squanders  in  fifty  years  nearly 
ten  thousand  dollars. 

A  master  recommended  one  of  his  workmen  to  "  lay 
by  something  for  a  rainy  day."  Shortly  after,  the 
master  asked  the  man  how  much  he  had  added  to  his 
store.  "  Faith,  nothing  at  all,"  said  he  j  "I  did  as  you 
bid  me ;  but  it  rained  very  hard  yesterday,  and  it  all 
went  —  in  drink  ! ' 

That  a  man  should  maintain  himself  and  his  family 
without  the  help  of  others,  is  due  to  his  sense  of  self- 
respect.  Every  genuine,  self-helping  man  ought  to 


1 82  SELF-RESPECT. 

respect  himself.  He  is  the  centre  of  his  own  little 
world.  His  personal  loves,  likings,  experiences,  hopes, 
and  fears,  —  how  important  they  are  to  him,  although 
of  little  consequence  to  others.  They  affect  his  hap- 
piness, his  daily  life,  and  his  whole  being  as  a  man. 
He  cannot  therefore  but  feel  interested,  deeply  inter- 
ested in  all  that  concerns  himself. 

To  do  justice,  a  man  must  think  well  not  only  of 
himself,  but  of  the  duties  which  he  owes  to  others. 
He  must  not  aim  too  low,  but  regard  man  as  created 
"  a  little  lower  than  the  angels."  Let  him  think  of 
his  high  destiny  —  of  the  eternal  interests  in  which  he 
has  a  part  —  of  the  great  scheme  of  nature  and  provi- 
dence —  of  the  intellect  with  which  he  has  been  en- 
dowed—  of  the  power  of  loving  conferred  upon  him  — 
of  the  home  on  earth  provided  for  him  ;  and  he  will 
cease  to  think  meanly  of  himself.  The  poorest  human 
being:  is  the  centre  of  two  eternities  —  the  Creator 

o 

o'ershadowing  all. 

Hence,  let  every  man  respect  himself,  —  his  body, 
his  mind,  his  character.  Self-respect,  originating  in 
self-love,  instigates  the  first  step  of  improvement.  It 
stimulates  a  man  to  rise,  to  look  upward,  to  develop 
his  intelligence,  to  improve  his  condition.  Self-respect 
is  the  root  of  most  of  the  virtues  —  of  cleanliness, 
chastity,  reverence,  honesty,  sobriety.  To  think 


SELF-HELP.  183 

meanly  of  one's  self  is  to  sink ;  sometimes  to  descend 
a  precipice  at  the  bottom  of  which  is  infamy. 

Every  man  can  help  himself  to  some  extent.  We 
are  not  mere  straws  thrown  upon  the  current  to  mark 
its  course  ;  but  possessed  of  freedom  of  action,  en- 
dowed with  power  to  stem  the  waves  and  rise  above 
them,  each  marking  out  a  course  for  himself.  We  can 
each  elevate  ourselves  in  the  scale  of  moral  being.  We 
can  cherish  pure  thoughts.  We  can  perform  good  ac- 
tions. We  can  live  soberly  and  frugally.  We  can  pro- 
vide against  the  evil  day.  We  can  read  good  books, 
listen  to  wise  teachers,  and  place  ourselves  under  the 
divinest  influences  on  earth.  We  can  live  for  the  high- 
est purposes,  and  with  the  highest  aims  in  view. 

"  Self-love  and  social  are  the  same,"  says  one  of  our 
poets.  The  man  who  improves  himself,  improves  the 
world.  He  adds  one  more  true  man  to  the  mass. 
And  the  mass  being  made  up  of  individuals,  it  is  clear 
that  were  each  to  improve  himself,  the  result  would 
be  the  improvement  of  the  whole.  Social  advance- 
ment is  the  consequence  of  individual  advancement. 
The  whole  cannot  be  pure,  unless  the  individuals  com- 
posing it  are  pure.  Society  at  large  is  but  the  reflex 
of  individual  conditions.  All  this  is  but  the  repetition 
of  a  truism,  but  truisms  have  often  to  be  repeated  to 
make  their  full  impression. 


184  UNCERTAINTY   OF  LIFE. 

The  sum  and  substance  of  our  remarks  is  this  :  In 
all  the  individual  reforms  or  improvements  that  we 
desire,  we  must  begin  with  ourselves.  We  must  ex- 
hibit our  gospel  in  our  own  life.  We  must  teach  by 
our  own  example.  If  we  would  have  others  elevated, 
we  must  elevate  ourselves.  Each  man  can  exhibit  the 
results  in  his  own  person.  He  can  begin  with  self- 
respect. 

The  uncertainty  of  life  is  a  strong  inducement  to 
provide  against  the  evil  day.  To  do  this  is  a  moral 
and  social,  as  well  as  a  religious  duty.  "  He  that  pro- 
videth  not  for  his  own,  and  especially  for  those  of  his 
own  household,  hath  denied  the  faith,  and  is  worse 
than  an  infidel." 

The  uncertainty  of  life  is  proverbially  true.  The 
strongest  and  healthiest  man  may  be  stricken  down 
in  a  moment,  by  accident  or  disease.  If  we  take  hu- 
man life  in  the  mass,  we  cannot  fail  to  recognize  the 
uncertainty  of  life  as  much  as  we  do  the  certainty  of 
death. 

There  is  a  striking  passage  in  Addison's  u  Vision  of 
Mirza,"  in  which  life  is  pictured  as  a  passage  over  a 
bridge  of  about  a  hundred  arches.  A  black  cloud 
hangs  over  each  end  of  the  bridge.  At  the  entrance 
to  it  there  are  hidden  pitfalls  very  thickly  set,  through 
which  throngs  disappear,  so  soon  as  they  have  placed 


UNCERTAINTY  OF  LIFE.  1 85 

their  feet  upon  the  bridge.  They  grow  thinner  to- 
wards the  centre;  they  gradually  disappear;  until  at 
length  only  a  few  persons  reach  the  further  side,  and 
these  also  having  dropped  through  the  pitfalls,  the 
bridge  at  its  further  extremity  becomes  entirely  clear. 
The  description  of  Addison  corresponds  with  the  re- 
sults of  the  observations  made  as  to  the  duration  of 
human  life. 

Thus,  of  a  hundred  thousand  persons  born  in  this 
country,  it  has  been  ascertained  that  a  fourth  of  them 
die  before  they  have  reached  their  fifth  year ;  and  one- 
half  before  they  have  reached  their  fiftieth  year.  One 
thousand  one  hundred  will  reach  their  ninetieth  year. 
Sixteen  will  live  to  a  hundred.  And  only  two  persons 
out  of  the  hundred  thousand  —  like  the  last  barks  of 
an  innumerable  convoy,  will  reach  the  advanced  and 
helpless  age  of  a  hundred  and  five  years. 

Two  things  are  very  obvious,  —  the  uncertainty  as  to 
the  hour  of  death  in  individuals,  but  the  regularity  and 
constancy  of  the  circumstances  which  influence  the 
duration  of  human  life  in  the  aggregate.  It  is  a  mat- 
ter of  certainty  that  the  average  life  of  all  persons  born 
in  this  country  extends  to  about  forty-five  years.  This 
has  been  proved  by  a  very  large  number  of  observa- 
tions of  human  life  and  its  duration. 

Equally  extensive  observations  have  been  made  as 


1 86  LAWS   OF  MORTALITY. 

to  the  average  number  of  persons  of  various  ages  who 
die  yearly.  It  is  always  the  number  of  the  experiments 
which  gives  the  law  of  the  probability.  It  is  on  such 
observations  that  the  actuary  founds  his  estimates  of 
the  mortality  that  exists  at  any  given  period  of  life. 
The  actuary  tells  you  that  he  has  been  guided  by  the 
Laws  of  Mortality.  Now  the  results  must  be  very  reg- 
ular, to  justify  the  actuary  in  speaking  of  Mortality  as 
governed  by  Laws.  And  yet  it  is  so. 

Indeed,  there  would  seem  to  be  no  such  thing  as 
chance  in  the  world.  Man  lives  and  dies  in  conformity 
to  a  law.  A  sparrow  falls  to  the  ground  in  obedience 
to  a  law.  Nay,  there  are  matters  in  the  ordinary  trans- 
actions of  life,  such  as  one  might  suppose  were  the 
mere  result  of  chance,  which  are  ascertained  to  be  of 
remarkable  accuracy  when  taken  in  the  mass.  For  in- 
stance, the  number  of  letters  put  in  the  post-office 
without  an  address  ;  the  number  of  letters  wrongly  di- 
rected ;  the  number  containing  money ;  the  number  un- 
stamped ;  continue  nearly  the  same,  in  relation  to  the 
number  of  letters  posted,  from  one  year  to  another. 

Now,  it  is  the  business  of  man  to  understand  the 
laws  of  health,  and  to  provide  against  their  conse- 
quences, —  as,  for  instance,  in  the  matter  of  sickness, 
accident,  and  premature  death.  We  cannot  escape 
the  consequences  of  transgression  of  the  natural  laws, 


WILL  NOBODY   HELP   US? 

though  we  may  have  meant  well.  We  must  have  done 
well.  The  Creator  does  not  alter  His  laws  to  accom- 
modate them  to  our  ignorance.  He  has  furnished  us 
with  intelligence,  so  that  we  may  understand  them  and 
act  upon  them  :  otherwise  we  must  suffer  the  conse- 
quences in  inevitable  pain  and  sorrow. 

We  often  hear  the  cry  raised,  "  Will  nobody  help 
us  ?  "  It  is  a  spiritless,  hopeless  cry.  It  is  sometimes 
a  cry  of  revolting  meanness,  especially  when  it  issues 
from  those  who  with  a  little  self-denial,  sobriety,  and 
thrift,  might  easily  help  themselves. 

Many  people  have  yet  to  learn,  that  virtue,  knowl- 
edge, freedom,  and  prosperity  must  spring  from  them- 
selves. Legislation  can  do  very  little  for  them :  it 
cannot  make  them  sober,  intelligent,  and  well-doing. 
The  prime  miseries  of  most  men  have  their  origin  in 
causes  far  removed  from  acts  of  the  legislature. 

The  spendthrift  laughs  at  legislation.  The  drunkard 
defies  it,  and  arrogates  the  right  of  dispensing  with 
forethought  and  self-denial,  —  throwing  upon  others 
the  blame  of  his  ultimate  wretchedness.  The  mob 
orators,  who  gather  "  the  millions  "  about  them,  are 
very  wide  of  the  mark,  when,  instead  of  seeking  to 
train  their  crowd  of  hearers  to  habits  of  frugality,  tem- 
perance, and  self-culture,  they  encourage  them  to  keep 
up  the  cry,  "  Will  nobody  help  us  ?  " 


188  PROSPEROUS   TIMES 

The  cry  sickens  the  soul.  It  shows  gross  ignorance 
of  the  first  elements  of  personal  welfare.  Help  is  in 
men  themselves.  They  were  born  to  help  and  to  ele- 
vate themselves.  They  must  work  out  their  own  salva^ 
tion.  The  poorest  men  have  done  it :  why  should  not 
every  man  do  it  ?  The  brave,  upward  spirit  ever  con- 
quers. 

The  number  of  well-paid  workmen  in  this  country 
has  become  very  large,  who  might  easily  save  and 
economize,  to  the  improvement  of  their  moral  well- 
being,  of  their  respectability  and  independence,  and  of 
their  status  in  society  as  men  and  citizens.  They  are 
improvident  and  thriftless  to  an  extent  which  proves 
not  less  hurtful  to  their  personal  happiness  and  domes- 
tic comfort,  than  it  is  injurious  to  the  society  of  which 
they  form  so  important  a  part. 

In  "  prosperous  times  "  they  spend  their  gains  reck- 
lessly, and  when  adverse  times  come,  they  are  at  once 
plunged  in  misery.  Money  is  not  used,  but  abused  j 
and  when  wage-earning  people  should  be  providing 
against  old  age,  or  for  the  wants  of  a  growing  family, 
they  are,  in  too  many  cases,  feeding  folly,  dissipation, 
and  vice.  Let  no  one  say  that  this  is  an  exaggerated 
picture.  It  is  enough  to  look  round  in  any  neighbor- 
hood, and  see  how  much  is  spent  and  how  little  is 
saved  ;  what  a  large  proportion  of  earnings  goes  to 


THE   LEAST   PROSPEROUS.  189 

the  beershop,   and  how  little  to  the  savings  bank  or 
the  benefit  society. 

"  Prosperous  times  '  are  very  often  the  least  pros- 
perous of  all  times.  In  prosperous  times,  mills  are 
working  full  time  ;  men,  women,  and  children  are  paid 
high  wages ;  warehouses  are  emptied  and  filed  j  goods 
are  manufactured  and  exported  ;  carts  full  of  produce 
pass  along  the  streets ;  immense  freight  trains  run 
along  the  railways,  and  heavily-laden  ships  leave  our 
shores  daily  for  foreign  ports,  full  of  the  products  of 
our  industry.  Everybody  seems  to  be  becoming  richer 
and  more  prosperous.  But  we  do  not  think  of  whether 
men  and  women*  are  becoming  wiser,  better  trained, 
less  self-indulgent,  more  religiously  disposed,  or  liv- 
ing for  any  higher  purpose  than  the  satisfaction  of  the 
animal  appetite. 

If  this  apparent  prosperity  be  closely  examined,  it 
will  be  found  that  expenditure  is  increasing  in  all  di- 
rections. There  are  demands  for  higher  wages ;  and 
the  higher  wages,  when  obtained,  are  spent  as  soon  as 
earned.  Intemperate  habits  are  formed,  and,  once 
formed,  the  habit  of  intemperance  continues.  Increased 
wages,  instead  of  being  saved,  are  for  the  most  part 
spent. 

Thus,  when  a  population  is  thoughtless  and  improv- 
ident, no  kind  of  material  prosperity  will  benefit  them. 


NATIONAL   PROSPERITY. 

Unless  they  exercise  forethought  and  economy  they 
will  alternately  be  in  a  state  of  "hunger  and  burst." 
When  trade  falls  off,  as  it  usually  does  after  exceptional 
prosperity,  they  will  not  be  comforted  by  the  thought 
of  what  they  might  have  saved,  had  it  ever  occurred  to 
them  that  the  "prosperous  times'  might  not  prove 
permanent. 

If  man's  chief  end  were  to  manufacture  cloth,  silk, 
cotton,  hardware,  toys,  and  china  ;  to  cultivate  land, 
grow  corn,  and  graze  cattle  ;  to  live  for  mere  money 
profit,  and  hoard  or  spend,  as  the  case  might  be,  we 
might  then  congratulate  ourselves  upon  our  National 
Prosperity.  But  is  this  the  chief  end  of  man  ?  Has  he 
not  faculties,  affections,  and  sympathies,  besides  muscu- 
lar organs  ?  Has  not  his  mind  and  heart  certain  claims, 
as  well  as  his  mouth  and  his  back  ?  Has  he  not  a  soul 
as  well  as  a  stomach  ?  And  ought  not  "prosperity"  to 
include  the  improvement  and  well-being  of  his  morals 
and  intellect  as  well  as  of  his  bones  and  muscles  ? 

Mere  money  is  no  indication  of  prosperity.  A  man's 
nature  may  remain  the  same.  It  may  even  grow  more 
stunted  and  deformed,  while  he  is  doubling  his  expen- 
diture, or  adding  cent,  per  cent,  to  his  hoards  yearly. 
It  is  the  same  with  the  mass.  The  increase  of  their 
gains  may  merely  furnish  them  with  increased  means 
for  gratifying  animal  indulgences,  unless  their  moral 


NATIONAL   PROSPERITY.  IQI 

character  keeps  pace  with  their  physical  advancement. 
Double  the  gains  of  an  uneducated,  overworked  man, 
in  a  time  of  prosperity,  and  what  is  the  result  ?  Simply 
that  you  have  furnished  him  with  the  means  of  eating 
and  drinking  more  !  Thus,  not  even  the  material  well- 
being  of  the  population  is  secured  by  that  condition  of 
things  which  is  defined  by  political  economists  as  "  Na- 
tional Prosperity."  And  so  long  as  the  moral  elements 
of  the  question  are  ignored,  this  kind  of  "  prosperity  ' 
is,  we  believe,  calculated  to  produce  far  more  mischiev- 
ous results  than  good.  It  is  knowledge  and  virtue 
alone  that  can  confer  dignity  on  a  man's  life;  and  the 
growth  of  such  qualities  in  a  nation  are  the  only  true 
marks  of  its  real  prosperity;  not  the  infinite  manufac- 
ture and  sale  of  cotton  prints,  toys,  hardware,  and 
crockery. 

In  making  the  preceding  observations  we  do  not  in 
the  least  advocate  the  formation  of  miserly,  penurious 
habits ;  for  we  hate  the  scrub,  the  miser.  All  that 
we  contend  for  is,  that  man  should  provide  for  the 
future,  —  that  they  should  provide  during  good  times 
for  the  bad  times  which  almost  invariably  follow  them, 
—  that  they  should  layby  a  store  of  savings  as  a  break- 
water against  want,  and  make  sure  of  a  little  fund 
which  may  maintain  them  in  old  age,  secure  their  self- 
respect,  and  add  to  their  personal  comfort  and  social 


METHODS   OF  ECONOMY. 

well-being.  Thrift  is  not  in  any  way  connected  with 
avarice,  usury,  greed,  or  selfishness.  It  is,  in  fact,  the 
very  reverse  of  these  disgusting  dispositions  It  means 
economy  for  the  purpose  of  securing  independence. 
Thrift  requires  that  money  should  be  used  and  not 
abused  —  that  it  should  be  honestly  earned  and  eco- 
nomically employed  — 

"  Not  for  to  put  it  in  a  hedge, 
Not  for  a  train  attendant,  — 
But  for  the  glorious  privilege 
Of  being  Independent." 


METHODS  OF  ECONOMY. 

"  It  was  with  profound  wisdom  that  the  Romans  called  by  the  same  name  cour- 
age and  virtue.  There  is  in  fact  no  virtue,  properly  so  called,  without  victory 
over  ourselves :  and  what  costs  us  nothing,  is  worth  nothing."  — De  Maistre. 

"  Almost  all  the  advantages  which  man  possesses  above  the  inferior  animals', 
arise  from  his  power  of  acting  in  combination  with  his  fellows ;  and  of  accom- 
plishing by  the  united  efforts  of  numbers  what  could  not  be  accomplished  by  the 
detached  efforts  of  individuals."  — /.  S.  Mill. 

"  For  the  future,  our  main  security  will  be  in  the  wider  diffusion  of  Property, 
and  in  all  such  measures  as  will  facilitate  this  result.  With  the  possession  of  prop- 
erty will  come  Conservative  instincts,  and  disinclination  for  rash  and  reckless 
schemes.  .  .  .  We  trust  much,  therefore,  to  the  rural  population  becoming  Pro- 
prietors, and  to  the  urban  population  becoming  Capitalists."  —  W.  R.  Greg. 

THE  methods  of  practicing  economy  are  very  simple. 
Spend  less  than  you  earn.  That  is  the  first  rule.  A 
portion  should  always  be  set  apart  for  the  future.  The 
person  who  spends  more  than  he  earns,  is  a  fool.  The 
civil  law  regards  the  spendthrift  as  akin  to  the  lunatic, 


KEEPING   REGULAR  ACCOUNT.  193 

and  frequently  takes  from  him  the  management  of  his 
own  affairs. 

The  next  rule  is  to  pay  ready  money,  and  never,  on 
any  account,  to  run  into  debt.  The  person  who  runs 
into  debt  is  apt  to  get  cheated ;  and  if  he  runs  into  debt 
to  any  extent,  he  will  himself  be  apt  to  get  disho.nest. 
"  Who  pays  what  he  owes,  enriches  himself." 

The  next  is,  never  to  anticipate  uncertain  profits  by 
expending  them  before  they  are  secured.  The  profits 
may  never  come,  and  in  that  case  you  will  have  taken 
upon  yourself  a  load  of  debt  which  you  may  never  get 
rid  of.  It  will  sit  upon  your  shoulders  like  the  old 
man  in  Sinbad. 

Another  method  of  economy  is,  to  keep  a  regular  ac- 
count of  all  that  you  earn,  and  of  all  that  you  expend. 
An  orderly  man  will  know  beforehand  what  he  requires, 
and  will  be  provided  with  the  necessary  means  for  ob- 
taining it.  Thus  his  domestic  budget  will  be  balanced  ; 
and  his  expenditure  kept  within  his  income. 

John  Wesley  regularly  adopted  this  course.  Al- 
though he  possessed  a  small  income,  he  always  kept 
his  eyes  upon  the  state  of  his  affairs.  A  year  before 
his  death,  he  wrote  with  a  trembling  hand,  in  his  Jour- 
nal of  Expenses ;  "  For  more  than  eighty-six  years  I 
have  kept  my  accounts  exactly.  I  do  not  care  to  con- 
tinue to  do  so  any  longer,  having  the  conviction  that  I 

13 


IQ4          GENEROSITY   AND   FORETHOUGHT. 

economize  all  that  I  obtain,  and  give  all  that  I  can,  — 
that  is  to  say  all  that  I  have." 

Besides  these  methods  of  economy,  the  eye  of  the 
master  or  the  mistress  is  always  necessary  to  see  that 
nothing  is  lost,  that  everything  is  put  to  its  proper  use 
and  kept  in  its  proper  place,  and  that  all  things  are 
done  decently  and  in  order.  It  does  no  dishonor  to 
even  the  highest  individuals  to  take  a  personal  interest 
in  their  own  affairs.  And  with  persons  of  moderate 
means,  the  necessity  for  the  eye  of  the  master  over- 
looking everything,  is  absolutely  necessary  for  the 
proper  conduct  of  business. 

It  is  difficult  to  fix  the  precise  limits  of  economy. 
Bacon  says  that  if  a  man  would  live  well  within  his  in- 
come, he  ought  not  to  expend  more  than  one-half  and 
save  the  rest.  This  is  perhaps  too  exacting  ;  and  Bacon 
himself  did  not  follow  his  own  advice.  What  propor- 
tion of  one's  income  should  be  expended  on  rent? 
That  depends  upon  circumstances.  It  is  at  all  events 
better  to  save  too  much,  than  spend  too  much.  One 
may  remedy  the  first  defect,  but  not  so  easily  the  latter. 
Wherever  there  is  a  large  family,  the  more  money  that 
is  put  to  one  side  and  saved,  the  better. 

Economy  is  necessary  to  the  moderately  rich,  as  well 
as  to  the  comparatively  poor  man.  Without  economy, 
a  man  cannot  be  generous.  He  cannot  take  part  in 


PRUDENT  ECONOMY.  195 

the  charitable  work  of  the  world.  If  he  spends  all  that 
he  earns,  he  can  help  nobody.  He  cannot  properly 
educate  his  children,  nor  put  them  in  the  way  of  start- 
ing fairly  in  the  business  of  life.  Even  the  example  of 
Bacon  shows  that  the  loftiest  intelligence  cannot  ne- 
glect thrift  without  peril.  But  thousands  of  witnesses 
daily  testify,  that  men  even  of  the  most  moderate  intel- 
ligence, can  practise  the  virtue  with  success. 

Although  the  American  people  are  a  diligent,  hard- 
working, and  generally  self-reliant  race,  trusting  to 
themselves  and  their  own  efforts  for  their  sustenance 
and  advancement  in  the  world,  they  are  yet  liable  to 
overlook  and  neglect  some  of  the  best  practical  meth- 
ods of  improving  their  position,  and  securing  their  so- 
cial well-being.  They  are  not  yet  sufficiently  educated 
to  be  temperate,  provident,  and  foreseeing.  They  live 
for  the  present,  and  are  too  regardless  of  the  coming 
time.  Men  who  are  husbands  and  parents,  generally 
think  they  do  their  duty  if  they  provide  for  the  hour 
that  is,  neglectful  of  the  hour  that  is  to  come.  Though 
industrious,  they  are  improvident ;  though  money-mak- 
ing, they  are  spendthrift.  They  do  not  exercise  fore- 
thought enough,  and  are  defective  in  the  virtue  of  pru- 
dent economy. 

Men  of  all  classes  are,  as  yet,  too  little  influenced  by 
these  considerations.  They  are  apt  to  live  beyond  their 


196  PRUDENT   ECONOMY. 

incomes,  —  at  all  events,  to  live  up  to  them.  The  up- 
per classes  live  too  much  for  display ;  they  must  keep 
up  their  "  position  in  society  j "  they  must  have  fine 
houses,  horses,  and  carriages  j  give  good  dinners,  and 
drink  rich  wines ;  their  ladies  must  wear  costly  and  gay 
dresses.  Thus  the  march  of  improvidence  goes  on  over 
broken  hearts,  ruined  hopes,  and  wasted  ambitions. 

The  vice  descends  in  society,  —  the  middle  classes 
strive  to  ape  the  patrician  orders  ;  they  flourish  crests, 
liveries,  and  hammercloths  ;  their  daughters  must  learn 
"accomplishments" — see  "society" — ride  and  drive 
—  frequent  operas  and  theatres.  Display  is  the  rage, 
ambition  rivalling  ambition  ;  and  thus  the  vicious  folly 
rolls  on  like  a  tide.  The  vice  again  descendso  The 
working  classes,  too,  live  up  to  their  means  - —  much 
smaller  means,  it  is  true  ;  but  even  when  they  are  able, 
they  are  not  sufficiently  careful  to  provide  against  the 
evil  day ;  and  then  only  the  poorhouse  offers  its  scanty 
aid  to  protect  them  against  want. 


ELF-MADE 


SELF-MADE  MEN. 


"HE  biography  of  every  man  who  has  risen  to 
eminence  of  any  kind  by  his  own  talent  and 
industry,  is  a  lesson  and  stimulus  to  all  who 
read  it.  Self-made  men  are  living  witnesses  that  God 
has  endowed  man  with  the  material  and  powers  neces- 
sary to  accomplish  the  most  desirable  fortune  and 
fame,  and  that  it  is  by  no  means  essential  to  a  man's 
success  or  greatness  that  he  has,  or  has  not,  the  in- 
herited appliances  of  aristocratic  birth,  wealth,  and 
consequent  position,  "forearming  him"  for  his  en- 
counter with  the  world. 

The  greatest  names  on  the  page  of  history  belong  to 
men  who  have  risen  from  obscure  birth,  against  wealth, 
and  in  defiance  of  what  is  called  disadvantageous 
position.  Bearing  in  their  nature  the  sacred  fire,  they 
have  kindled  at  the  breath  of  the  opposing  tempest, 
and  by  unwearied,  undaunted  struggle,  dawned  day  by 


200  SELF-MADE  MEN. 

day  into  a  broader,  stronger,  and  more  beautiful  life. 
Such  men,  trusting  to  no  fortuitous  aids,  and  owing 
nothing  to  chances,  have  so  beaten  their  pathway  up- 
ward that  they  could  not  be  thrust  down  by  the  acci- 
dents which  disarm  and  discourage  the  mere  favorite 
of  circumstances. 

It  is  not  the  men  who  have  inherited  most,  except  it 
is  in  nobility  of  soul  and  purpose,  who  have  risen 
highest;  but  rather  the  men  with  no  dower  save  soul 
and  purpose,  who  have  made  fortunate  and  adverse 
circumstances  alike  a  spur  to  goad  their  steed  up  the 
steep  and  stubborn  mount,  where 

*'  Fame's  proud  temple  shines  afar." 

To  such  men,  every  possible  goal  is  accomplishable, 
and  honest  ambition  has  no  height  which  genius  or 
talent  may  tread,  which  has  not  felt  the  impress  of 
their  feet. 

The  list  of  men  who  have  risen  from  obscurity — 
and  in  some  cases  poverty — to  fame  and  fortune,  is  a 
long  one,  and  would  occupy  more  space  than  can  be 
given  within  the  compass  of  a  reasonable  book. 

From  a  farm  to  the  Presidential  chair  seems  a  long 
distance,  but  Abraham  Lincoln  traveled  that  distance, 
became  President  of  the  United  States,  and  left  behind 
him  a  name  and  reputation  which  will  never  die. 
Andrew  Johnson  began  life  as  a  tailor,  and  subse- 


SELF-MADE  MEN.  201 

quently  rose  to  the  position  of  chief  officer  of  the 
nation.  George  Peabody,  when  a  boy,  was  an  ap- 
prentice in  a  country  store,  and  ended  as  a  million- 
aire, leaving  behind  him  a  reputation  for  philanthropy 
which  will  never  be  forgotten.  John  Jacob  Astor 
began  life  as  a  fur  beater,  and  amassed  an  immense 
fortune.  A.  T.  Stewart,  from  a  school  teacher,  became 
the  owner  of  the  largest  dry-goods  house  in  the 
country,  and  one  of  the  wealthiest  men  in  the  world. 
Cyrus  W.  Field  was  in  early  life  a  clerk,  and  to  him, 
in  a  great  measure,  the  world  is  indebted  for  the  suc- 
cessful completion  of  the  Atlantic  cable.  Samuel  F. 
B.  Morse,  from  an  artist,  became  the  inventor  of  the 
electric  telegraph.  Elihu  B.  Washburne,  when  a  boy, 
worked  in  a  printing  office,  and  has  risen  to  a  very 
high  position  in  the  government  of  the  nation.  Dwight 
L.  Moody,  the  great  evangelist,  from  an  uneducated, 
humble  city  missionary  in  Chicago,  has  been  the 
means  of  infusing  new  life  and  energy  into  the  Chris- 
tian church,  both  in  Great  Britain  and  America;  and 
has  preached  before  the  most  learned  and  educated 
men  of  the  day.  And  the  great  and  illustrious  General, 
and  twice  President  of  America,  Ulysses  S.  Grant, 
began  life  as  a  tanner.  His  career  is  a  marvellous 
one,  and  his  ability  and  patriotism  have  been  gener- 
ously recognized,  not  only  by  the  American  people, 


202  SELF-MADE  MEN. 

but  by  the  whole  world.  Charles  Dickens,  the  great 
novelist,  began  life  as  a  newspaper  reporter,  and  his 
name  and  fame  are  now  world-wide.  Thomas  Carlyle, 
a  farmer's  son,  stands  to-day  at  the  head  of  the  literary 
profession,  and  is  known  as  "The  Chelsea  Philoso- 
pher." His  writings  and  utterances  show  him  to  be  a 
far-seeing,  acute,  and  clear-headed  observer,  and  his 
fame  is  already  honored  by  all  classes  of  the  people. 
We  append  a  few  sketches  of  prominent  men,  who 
have  risen  from  the  ranks,  and  whose  lives  form  noble 
examples  of  perseverance  under  difficulties,  and  of 
triumph  over  all  obstacles. 


ELIHU    B.  WASHBURNE. 


it  be  true  of  men  that  "  blood  will  tell,"  the  suc- 
cess in  life  achieved  by  Elihu  B.  Washburne,  ol 
Illinois,  who  was  a  farmer's  boy,  a  printer's 
apprentice,  who  has  been  a  lawyer,  statesman,  and 
diplomat,  and  who  is  to-day  foremost  among  the  men 
who  may  claim  to  be  representative  Americans,  is  to 
i  great  extent  accounted  for  in  advance.  His  father, 
Israel  Washburne,  was  a  native  of  Massachusetts,  a 
man  of  high  honor  and  sterling  integrity,  who  removed 
to  the  district  of  Maine  in  1806,  and  in  1809  settled 
at  Livermore,  Oxford  County,  that  State,  where  he 
died  in  September,  1876,  at  the  age  of  92  years.  Mr. 
Washburne's  mother  was  a  daughter  of  Samuel  Ben- 
jamin, who  descended  directly  from  the  Pilgrim 
Fathers,  and  who  figured  prominently  in  the  Revolu- 
tionary War. 

Mr.  Washburne  was   the  third  of  seven  brothers, 


20G  SELF-MADE  MEN. 

several  of  whom  have  held  important  positions  in  the 
country's  service. 

Springing  from  such  stock,  Elihu  B.  Washburne  was 
born  at  Livermore,  in  Oxford  County,  in  September, 
1816.  The  simple  story  of  his  early  youth,  filled  as  it 
is  with  notes  of  many  vicissitudes,  and  being  as  it  was 
a  constant  struggle,  a  ceaseless  battle  to  wring  hard 
fare  from  inhospitable  surroundings,  is  not  only  most 
interesting  but  exceedingly  instructive.  From  his 
earliest  infancy  young  Elihu  was  taught  to  believe  that 
there  was  no  nonsense  in  this  life,  and  that  the  best 
men,  unlike  the  Vicar  of  Wakefield,  never  tired  of 
being  always  wise.  His  father  kept  a  small  country 
store,  and  he,  as  early  as  his  yth  year,  was  taught  to 
"  make  himself  generally  useful,"  gathering  chips, 
carrying  wood,  picking  stones  from  off  the  sterile 
pasture  land,  driving  cows,  and  doing  many  other 
"  chores  "  of  the  same  sort.  He  went  to  school  a  few 
weeks  in  winter,  and  again  for  a  few  weeks  in  summer; 
but,  as  may  readily  be  imagined,  learned  but  little. 
About  his  father's  store,  however,  being  a  lad  of 
keenest  intelligence,  he  picked  up  much  useful  and 
miscellaneous  information. 

In  June,  1833,  he  secured  the  situation  of  an  ap- 
prentice  in  the  office  of  the  Christian  Intelligencer, 
published  at  Gardiner,  Me.,  and  in  his  new  position 


ELIHU  B.  WASHBURNE.  -207 

learned  rapidly.  In  addition  to  the  rudiments  of  his 
trade,  he  picked  up  much  odd  information,  and  as 
politics  ran  high  at  the  time,  and  the  newspaper  office 
was  the  great  place  for  political  discussion,  he  soon 
became  thoroughly  conversant  with  all  the  election 
news  of  the  period.  Taking  his  cue  from  his  father, 
who  once  in  his  hearing  had  denounced  Andrew 
Jackson  as  utterly  unfit  to  be  President,  as  an  officer 
who  had  hanged  men  in  Florida  without  warrant  of 
law,  who  had  trampled  the  rights  of  the  Judiciary 
under  foot  at  New  Orleans— he  even  at  this  early  age 
conceived  a  bitter  dislike  to  the  Democracy,  which 
clung  to  him  in  all  his  after  life,  and  did  much  to  make 
him,  as  he  since  has  been,  one  of  the  leaders  of  the 
Republican  party.  Of  this  period  in  his  career,  Mr. 
Washburne  wrote,  some  years  ago,  in  a  private  diary: 
"  As  time  rolled  on,  I  was  quite  pleased  and  contented 
in  my  trade.  I  learned  to  set  type  rapidly,  and  had 
also  begun  to  work  a  little  at  the  press.  I  did  not  con- 
sider that  I  had  to  labor  very  hard,  and  I  had  a  good 
deal  of  leisure  time  to  read  and  study.  I  read  all  the 
exchange  papers,  and  contracted  the  habit  of  news- 
paper reading,  which  has  not  left  me  to  this  day.  I 
don't  think  I  ever  wasted  an  hour,  but  devoted  myself 
entirely  to  the  acquisition  of  knowledge.  To  a  boy 
who  is  desirous  of  educating  himself,  there  is  not  a 
ii 


208  SELF-MADE  MEN. 

better  school  than  a  printing-office.  I  am  satisfied 
that  I  learned  more  in  the  one  year  1  was  in  the 
Intelligencer  office  than  I  ever  learned  in  any  one 
year  of  my  life." 

Unfortunately,  the  boy's  pleasant  situation  was  not 
long  to  continue.  The  paper  with  which  he  was  con- 
nected failed,  and  he  was  thrown  out  into  the  world 
without  employment  or  any  hope  of  obtaining  another 
situation.  Still  he  did  not  despair,  and,  returning  to 
the  neighborhood  of  his  home,  by  the  influence  of 
friends,  after  passing  a  severe  examination,  he  was 
selected  to  teach  the  district  school,  his  compensation 
being  $10  a  month,  and  it  being  stipulated  that  he  was 
to  "board  around"  among  the  neighboring  families. 
He  was  barely  18  years  of  age  when  he  entered  upon 
the  duties  of  schoolmaster.  Many  of  his  pupils  were 
much  older  and  stronger  than  himself,  several  of  them 
were  notorious  mischief-makers,  and  the  winter  before 
the  schoolmaster  had  been,  by  a  number  of  riotous 
pupils,  turned  bodily  out  of  the  school  and  the  school 
itself  closed  up.  By  every  means  in  his  power,  desir- 
ing to  avoid  a  collision  with  them,  the  young  master 
tried  to  conciliate  his  scholars,  and  for  a  while  suc- 
ceeded admirably.  After  the  second  week,  however, 
he  began  to  see  symptoms  of  revolt,  and  he  made  up 
his  mind  that  upon  the  first  opportunity  he  would  give 


ELIHU  B.    WASHBURNE.  209 

the  big  boys  who  were  disposed  to  be  impertinent  a 
taste  of  his  mettle.  He  soon  had  the  opportunity. 
The  class  was  up  before  him  for  recitation,  when  one 
of  the  biggest  and  worst  lads  in  school  not  only 
declined  to  obey  his  orders,  but  impertinently  laughed 
in  his  face.  Without  a  word  young  Washburne  sprang 
from  his  place,  and,  with  a  heavy  ruler,  beat  the 
rebellious  pupil  so  vigorously  over  the  head  and 
shoulders  that  he  soon  cried  for  mercy,  and,  together 
with  his  companions  who  had  been  most  unruly,  ever 
afterward  submitted  to  discipline  meekly  and  without 
dispute.  Schoolmaster  Washburne  had  no  further 
trouble  in  maintaining  the  decorum  of  the  establish- 
ment 

When  his  three  months'  term  as  a  school-teacher 
had  closed,  and  he  had  received  his  $30,  he  succeeded, 
after  much  effort,  in  securing  a  place  as  apprentice 
in  the  office  of  the  Kennebec  Journal,  at  Augusta, 
Me.,  which  was  the  leading  Whig  organ  of  the  State. 

Young  Washburne,  though  working  very  hard,  some- 
times until  2  or  3  o'clock  in  the  morning,  when  a  tri- 
weekly paper  was  published  during  sessions  of  the 
Legislature,  had  what  seemed  to  him  to  be  a  very 
pleasant  and  rather  easy  place  in  the  Kennebec- 
Journal  office,  and  he  was  very  hopeful  of  becoming 
most  proficient  in  his  trade,  when  he  was  stricken  by 


210  SELF-MADE  MEN. 

an  ailment  which  prevented  him  permanently  from 
standing  at  the  "  case."  This  was  a  great  blow,  but 
notwithstanding  the  disappointment,  and  finding  that 
one  career  was  closed  to  him,  he,  with  his  usual 
energy,  turned  his  attention  to  another.  He  decided 
to  study  law,  and  in  the  spring  of  1836  bade  farewell  to 
Augusta  and  the  Kennebec  Journal,  going  with  what 
little  money  he  had  scraped  together  to  the  Kent's 
Hill  Seminary,  where  he  intended  to  study  as  long  as 
his  funds  would  hold  out. 

In  the  winter  of  i836-*37,  he  studied  Latin  and 
French,  read  continuously,  attended  lyceum  lectures, 
and  progressed  rapidly.  He  entered  the  law  office  of 
the  Hon.  John  Otis,  a  distinguished  lawyer,  and  mem- 
ber of  Congress,  who  lived  in  the  aristocratic  town  of 
Hallowell,  Me.,  and  in  time  Mr.  Otis  was  so  much 
struck  by  his  diligence,  fidelity,  and  ambition,  that  he 
aided  him  pecuniarily,  and  took  him  into  his  own 
family  to  board.  Afterward,  when  the  young  man  was 
fitted,  Mr.  Otis  advanced  him  the  money  to  enter  the 
Cambridge  Law  School.  Before  this,  however,  in 
January,  1838,  the  Whigs  having  a  majority  in  the 
Legislature,  young  Washburne,  urged  by  his  friends, 
tried  to  procure  the  position  of  Assistant  Clerk  to  the 
House,  which  paid  $2  a  day,  and  would  literally  have 
been  a  god-send  to  him.  He  was  defeated  in  this 


ELIHU  B.  WASHBURNE.  211 

aspiration,  but  afterward  was  given  some  writing  to  do 
by  the  Secretary  of  State — who  subsequently  became 
his  colleague  in  Congress.  In  March,  1839,  he  entered 
the  Cambridge  Law  School,  which  was  then  most 
popular,  having  for  its  professors  Mr.  Justice  Story 
and  Simon  Greenleaf,  two  of  the  most  distinguished 
jurists  the  country  has  ever  produced.  Many  of  those 
who  studied  with  Mr.  Washburne  have  since  become 
noted  men  in  the  nation. 

For  more  than  a  year  the  young  man  pursued  his 
studies  at  Cambridge,  and  then,  having  passed  a 
critical  examination,  and  having  been  admitted  to  the 
Bar,  he  determined  to  cut  loose  from  his  old  asso- 
ciations, seek  a  home  in  the  far  West,  and  make  for 
himself  a  competence.  Gathering  together  what  money 
he  could,  and,  equipped  by  a  careful  mother  with  a 
few  articles  of  clothing,  he  set  out  on  his  journey  for 
the  "  West,"  but  with  no  definite  idea  of  what  point 
he  would  ultimately  select  for  settlement. 

On  his  way  to  the  West  he  passed  through  Washing- 
ton, and  then,  for  the  first  time,  being  thrown  into  the 
society  of  many  distinguished  men,  he  was  naturally 
much  impressed.  Years  afterward,  writing  of  that  first 
visit,  he  says:  "The  Senate  of  the  United  States  was 
then  in  the  very  zenith  of  its  power.  Looking  to  the 
great  men  who  were  then  members  of  it,  we  may  well 


212  SELF-MADE  MEN. 

say  '  there  were  giants  in  those  days.'  Clay,  Webster, 
Calhoun,  Benton,  Preston,  Buchanan,  McDuffie,  Silas 
Wright,  are  the  names  of  some  of  the  Senators  which 
occur  to  me  after  the  lapse  of  nearly  thirty-five  years. 
I  can  distinctly  call  to  mind  the  personal  appearance 
of  every  one  of  those  men." 

Pleasant  as  was  this  visit  to  Washington,  however, 
young  Washburne  was  unable  to  prolong  it.  He  was 
soon  reminded,  by  the  rapid  decrease  in  his  small 
hoard  of  money,  that  it  would  be  necessary  for  him  to 
push  on,  and  leaving  Washington,  he,  by  slow  stages, 
over  rough  roads,  and  making  long  trips  on  river 
steamboats,  at  last,  in  the  spring  of  1840,  landed  at 
Galena,  in  Illinois,  the  State  in  which  he  was  after- 
wards to  become  famous. 

When  Elihu  B.  Washburne  arrived  in  Galena,  as  I 
have  described,  a  young  man  in  a  strange  place>  with- 
out friends  or  money,  and  with  nothing  to  aid  him  in 
the  world  except  a  sound  English  education,  much 
hard  experience,  and  a  high  resolve,  no  man  would 
have  been  foolhardy  enough  to  predict  that  he  would, 
in  the  time  to  come,  grow  with  the  growth  of  his  new 
home,  and,  keeping  abreast  with  the  progress  of  the 
Great  West,  make  for  himself  a  name  known  not  only 
in  the  nation,  but  throughout  much  of  the  civilized 
world.  Galena,  at  the  time  in  question,  was  a  town 


ELIHU  B.  WASI1I3URNE.  213 

of  about  i, 800  inhabitants,  of  great  business  activity, 
and  the  centre  of  a  large  mining  country.  The  Bar 
of  the  town  was  one  of  the  most  distinguished  in 
Illinois,  and  the  young  Eastern  lawyer,  commencing 
the  practice  of  his  profession  among  many  keen-witted 
men,  found  that  he  must  do  his  best  if  he  would  sus- 
tain himself.  He  arrived  at  Galena  shortly  after  the 
commencement  of  the  memorable  Harrison  campaign, 
and,  being  a  strong  Whig,  he  made  numerous  speeches 
in  support  of  that  party.  In  1844  he  was  made  a 
delegate  to  the  Whig  National  Convention,  which  met 
at  Baltimore,  and  which  with  unbounded  enthusiasm 
nominated  to  the  Presidency  that  prince  of  political 
leaders,  Henry  Clay.  Indeed,  he  was  always  one  of 
Clay's  stanchest,  most  steadfast,  and  at  the  same  time 
most  disinterested  admirers.  After  the  Convention 
was  over,  he  went  to  Washington  to  see  and  congratu- 
late Mr.  Clay  upon  his  nomination.  He  had  never 
seen  him  before,  and  was  as  much  impressed  with  his 
tall  and  striking  figure  as  he  was  by  his  wondrous 
graciousness  and  affability  of  manner. 

During  all  this  time,  and  while  taking  so  active  a 
part  in  politics,  it  must  not  be  assumed  that  Mr. 
Washburne  neglected  his  law  business.  Such  was  not 
the  case.  His  practice  increased  rapidly,  and  he  at- 
tended to  it  faithfully.  He  practiced  not  only  in  his 


214  SELF-MADE  MEN. 

own  neighborhood,  but  also  in  the  Supreme  Court  at 
Springfield,  the  State  Capital,  making  the  journey  to 
that  place  by  stage-coach,  the  trip  occupying  often 
four  or  five  days.  In  1848,  however,  he  was  brought 
forward  by  his  friends  as  a  candidate  for  the  nomina- 
tion for  Congress  in  the  Galena  district — a  district, 
by  the  way,  which  at  that  time  extended  from  Galena 
half  way  to  St.  Louis.  The  nominating  convention 
met  at  Rock  Island,  and  in  it  Col.  Baker  carried  off 
the  nomination. 

Notwithstanding  the  defeat  which  he  thus  encount- 
ered, Mr.  Washburne  developed  such  strength  in  the 
convention  as  to  make  him  more  than  ever  a  promin- 
ent man  in  the  district.  In  1852  he  was  again  dele- 
gate to  the  National  Whig  Convention,  and  strongly 
advocated  and  aided  in  the  nomination  of  Gen.  Scott 
as  against  the  pro-slavery  influences  of  the  conven- 
tion. Because  of  this,  when  the  Galena  district  was 
reapportioned  in  two  years  after,  he  was  again  prom- 
inently mentioned  in  connection  with  the  Congres- 
sional nomination,  and  was  nominated.  Washburne 
canvassed  the  district  with  untiring  zeal,  and,  greatly 
to  the  surprise  of  his  opponents  and  the  people  of  the 
State,  he  was  elected  by  a  majority  of  286  votes. 

Going  to  Congress,  and  representing  as  he  did,  what 
was  believed  to  have  been  an  overwhelmingly  Demo- 


ELIHU  B.  WASHBURNE.  215 

cratic  district,  Mr.  Washburne  was  careful  to  feel  well 
his  ground  before  attempting  to  make  any  display. 
He  did  not  believe,  as  do  many  of  the  young  mem- 
bers of  to-day,  that  it  was  his  duty,  before  he  had 
well  warmed  his  seat,  to  make  half  a  dozen  speeches, 
which  had  been  prepared  in  advance,  before  a  look- 
ing-glass in  a  private  room.  He  watched  carefully 
what  was  being  done  by  those  around  him,  and,  know- 
ing well  the  French  proverb,  may  have  believed  that 
"  everything  is  possible  to  the  man  who  waits."  So 
successful  was  he  in  the  first  Congress  to  which  he  was 
elected,  and  so  admirably  did  he  represent  not  only  a 
party,  but  all  the  people  of  his  district,  that  in  1854, 
when  it  again  became  necessary  to  elect  a  Congress- 
man, he  was  elected  by  a  majority  of  over  5,000.  In 
the  next  Congress,  the  first  regular  session  of  which 
commenced  in  1855,  he  was  made  chairman  of  the 
Committee  on  Commerce.  In  that  position  he  dis- 
tinguished himself  by  a  fidelity  to  business,  and  a 
broad  comprehension  of  the  duties  of  his  office.  Two 
years  later  he  was  re-elected  to  Congress  for  the  third 
successive  term.  During  the  session  of  that  Congress 
there  occurred  the  fight  on  the  floor  of  the  House 
between  Galusha  A.  Grow,  of  Pennsylvania,  and  the 
South  Carolina  "  fire-eater,"  Lawrence  M.  Keitt.  Keitt, 
of  South  Carolina,  struck  Grow,  of  Pennsylvania, 


216  SELF-MADE  MEN. 

as  he  was  walking  through  the  aisle  of  the  House 
of  Representatives.  Both  represented  great  States. 
The  South  Carolinian  looked  for  an  easy  conquest. 
The  South  Carolinian  was  mistaken.  Grow  returned 
the  blow.  For  a  moment  there  was  consternation  in 
the  House.  Then  other  Southerners,  true  to  their 
traditions,  rushed  to  the  aid  of  their  champion.  But 
Mr.  Grow,  to  the  surprise  of  the  Southerners,  was  not 
left  unprotected.  Many  Northern  men,  with  strong 
Anglo-Saxon  arms,  rushed  to  his  support.  Foremost 
among  them  was  Elihu  B.  Washburne,  who,  with  sturdy 
strokes  of  a  fist  developed  by  hard  toil  upon  a  New 
England  farm,  struck  right  and  left  in  the  just  cause, 
and  did  much  to  demonstrate  upon  proud  Southern 
cheeks  that  Yankee  mud-sills  would  fight. 

This  little  episode  did  Mr.  Washburne  no  harm. 
When  the  election  again  came  around  he  was  again 
chosen  from  the  Galena  district,  by  an  increased 
majority.  In  1860  he  was  re-elected  for  the  fifth  suc- 
cessive time  by  a  majority  of  13,511 — the  largest 
majority  given  to  any  man  in  that  Congress,  and  one 
of  the  largest  given  to  any  man  who  ever  sat  in  the 
United  States  House  of  Representatives. 

In  the  next  Congress,  and  in  those  which  followed 
it — for  Mr.  Washburne  was  triumphantly  re-elected 
term  after  term — he,  as  chairman  of  the  Committee  on 


ELIHU  B.  WASHBURNE,  217 

Commerce,  and  later,  as  chairman  of  the  Committee 
on  Appropriations,  took  a  most  prominent  part.  He 
was  one  of  the  first  of  the  men  who,  with  far-sighted 
intelligence,  saw  that  the  war  was  not  to  be  for  thirty 
days,  but  might  be  for  years.  He  was  also  regarded 
as  the  next  friend  of  President  Lincoln.  Indeed,  it 
was  his  duty,  on  the  part  of  the  House,  to  go  with  Mr. 
Seward  on  the  part  of  the  Senate,  to  receive  Abraham 
Lincoln  when,  after  his  election  for  the  first  time,  he 
came  to  Washington. 

Lincoln  was  inaugurated,  it  is  true,  without  blood- 
shed, but  soon  afterward  the  war  came  on,  and  every- 
thing was  very  far  from  being  "  all  right "  in  Washing- 
ton. During  all  the  terrible  days  which  followed, 
during  the  long  and  weary  years  of  rebellion  which 
were  precipitated  on  the  country  by  the  slave-holding 
power,  Elihu  B.  Washburne  was  a  foremost  figure  in 
the  council-chamber  of  the  nation.  He  was  again  and 
again  re-elected  to  Congress,  till  at  last,  by  reason  of 
the  length  of  his  continuous  service,  he  became  the 
"  Father  of  the  House."  In  that  capacity  he  swore  in 
Schuyler  Colfax  as  Speaker  on  three  different  occa- 
sions, and  swore  in  Mr.  Speaker  Elaine  once.  In  the 
passage  of  all  the  great  war  legislation  of  the  time  he 
took  an  active  part.  He  was  always  in  his  place 
fighting  "  steals  "  of  every  kind  with  a  persistency 


218  SELF-MADE  MEN. 

which  was  almost  heroic,  and  by  his  determined 
opposition  to  jobs  of  all  kinds,  earned  the  name  of  the 
"  Watch-dog  of  the  Treasury." 

Gen.  Grant,  being  one  of  Mr.  Washburne's  constitu- 
ents, owed  much  of  his  rank  in  the  army  to  his  influ- 
ence. Indeed,  every  promotion  which  he  received 
was  given  either  solely  or  in  part,  upon  the  recom- 
mendation of  Mr.  Washburne.  The  manner  in  which 
he  (Grant)  became  senior  Brigadier-General  of  Illi- 
nois Volunteers  is  now  for  the  first  time  narrated. 
When  the  State  in  question  had  raised  thirty- 
six  regiments  t  of  troops,  and  was  entitled  to  nine 
Brigadier-Generals,  President  Lincoln  sent  to  each  of 
the  Illinois  delegation,  Senators  and  Congressmen,  a 
personal  note  asking  them  to  recommend  nine  men  to 
fill  the  vacant  positions.  The  delegation  was  called 
to  meet  in  Judge  Trumball's  room,  and,  after  some  dis- 
cussion as  to  the  manner  in  which  the  selections 
should  be  made,  it  was  decided  that  the  districts 
should  be  called  in  their  numerical  order,  that  each 
Congressman  should  name  his  candidate,  and  that  his 
associates  should  then  vote  for  or  against  him.  The 
Galena  district  was  the  first  one  called,  and,  in  re- 
sponse, Mr.  Washburne  suggested  Colonel  Grant,  of 
Galena.  The  Colonel  was  not  unknown  to  the  other 
members  of  the  delegation,  and  for  this  reason,  as 


ELIHU  B.  WASHBURNE.  219 

much  as  a  desire  to  gratify  Mr.  Washburne,  every 
member  of  the  delegation  voted  for  him,  and  he  was 
in  this  way  unanimously  recommended  as  the  first 
choice  of  the  State  for  one  of  the  nine  positions  which 
the  President  desired  to  fill.  By  virtue  of  thus  appear- 
ing at  the  head  of  the  Brigadier-Generals,  as  it  after- 
ward turned  out,  Grant  took  senior  rank,  and  when  it 
became  necessary  to  make  Major-Generals  by  pro- 
motion, for  the  simple  reason  that  his  name  was  at  the 
head  of  the  list  as  described,  he  was  the  first  to  re- 
ceive the  higher  rank.  Later  on  Mr.  Washburne  was 
instrumental  in  framing  and  passing  the  bill  which 
made  U.  S.  Grant  a  Lieutenant-General  and,  subse- 
quently, General  of  the  Armies  of  the  United  States. 
The  first  postal-telegraph  bill  ever  introduced  in  the 
House  was  introduced  by  Mr.  Washburne,  and  the  bill 
providing  for  the  establishment  of  national  cemeteries 
(which  became  a  law)  was  also  introduced  by  him. 

There  is  reason  to  believe  that  Gen.  Grant  was 
always  very  grateful  to  Mr.  Washburne  for  the  good 
service  which  he  did  him  when  he  was  a  compara- 
tively obscure  citizen,  and  afterward  when  he  had 
made  a  name.  At  all  events,  in  1869,  when  he  had 
been  elected  President,  one  of  his  first  acts  was  to  ap- 
point Congressman  Washburne  to  the  first  place  in  his 
Cabinet.  The  appointment  was  made  in  a  manner 


•220  SELF-MADE  MEN. 

exceedingly  characteristic  of  Gen.  Grant.  It  is  a  fact 
beyond  dispute  that,  as  in  the  case  of  Don  Cameron, 
Mr.  Washburne  was  entirely  ignoraat  of  the  Presi- 
dent's intention  to  make  him  one  of  his  Secretaries. 
The  great  Illinois  Congressman,  immediately  after  the 
President's  inauguration,  was  sitting  in  his  room  in  the 
Capitol — the  room  of  the  Committee  on  Appropria- 
tions, which  he  took  possession  of  after  the  death  of 
Thad.  Stevens — and  was  discussing  with  Horace 
Greeley  and  two  or  three  other  gentlemen  the  prob- 
able action  of  President  Grant  in  regard  to  his  Cabi 
net.  Even  while  they  were  talking,  a  page-boy  came 
in  from  the  Senate  Chamber,  saying: 

"  Mr.  Washburne,  here  are  a  number  of  important 
Executive  appointments." 

Mr.  Washburne  took  the  paper  which  the  lad  handed 
him,  and,  greatly  to  his  surprise,  read  at  the  top  of  the 
list: 

"  To  be  Secretary  of  State,  Elihu  B.  Washburne,  of 
Illinois." 

Turning  to  Mr.  Greeley  and  the  other  gentlemen 
who  were  present,  he  said  : 

"The  question  is  at  last  settled,  gentlemen,  and, 
strangely  enough,  to  be  Secretary  of  State,  President 
Grant  has  named  myself." 

It  is  worthy  of  repetition  that  Mr.  Washburne  was 


EL1HU  B.   WASHBURNE.  221 

in  this  way  for  the  first  time  informed  of  his  appoint- 
ment. He  had  absolutely  no  previous  information  of 
President  Grant's  intention  toward  himself. 

To  enter  the  Cabinet,  he  reluctantly  resigned  his 
seat  in  Congress,  and  bade  farewell  to  a  constituency 
which  for  nearly  twenty  years  had  honored  themselves 
by  honoring  him.  I  say  that  he  resigned  reluctantly. 
He  did  so  not  only  because  he  was  sorry  to  discon- 
tinue his  Congressional  services  under  the  old  pleasant 
auspices,  but  because  his  health  would  not  permit  him 
to  perform  the  duties  of  the  new  position  to  which  he 
had  been  called.  Such  proved  to  be  the  case.  After 
a  short  term  of  service  and  consultation  with  eminent 
physicians,  he  was  fully  assured  that  the  duties  of  the 
State  Department  were  more  than  he  could  hope  to 
fulfill  with  safety  to  himself,  and  he  resigned. 

Subsequently  President  Grant  tendered  Mr.  Wash- 
burne  the  position  of  Minister  to  France,  which  he 
accepted. 

When  Mr.  Washburne  resigned  his  position  as  Sec- 
retary of  State,  and,  because  of  ill-health  and  a  desire 
for  rest,  took  upon  himself  the  duties  of  the  Minister- 
ship  to  France,  he  reckoned  very  much  without  his 
host.  Indeed,  he  had  only  been  a  few  months  abroad 
when  he  discovered  that  his  new  post  was  destined  to 
prove  a  most  laborious,  if  not  a  very  dangerous  one. 


222  SELF-MADE  MEN. 

By  his  logical  and  forcible  appeals,  Mr.  Washburne 
succeeded,  practically  upon  his  own  terms,  in  effecting 
the  release  from  confinement  within  the  French  limits, 
of  nearly  all  the  German  subjects  who  desired  to  return 
to  their  own  country.  Writing  to  the  American  Sec- 
retary of  State  under  date  of  Sept.  2,  1870,  he  thus 
modestly  tells  of  the  remarkable  success  he  had  in  the 
direction  indicated:  "  The  greater  part  of  the  German 
population  has  left  Paris.  This  Legation  has  vised 
passports  and  given  safe  conducts  for  very  nearly 
30,000  persons,  subjects  of  the  North  German  Con 
federation,  expelled  from  France.  We  have  given 
railroad  tickets  to  the  Prussian  frontier  for  8,000  of 
these  people,  as  well  as  small  amounts  of  money  to  a 
much  smaller  number.  From  this  statement  you  will 
form  somewhat  of  an  estimate  of  the  amount  of  labor 
we  have  performed  for  the  past  few  weeks.  *  *  * 
My  time  is  now  a  good  deal  taken  up  in  looking  after 
Germans  who  have  been  arrested  and  thrown  into 
prison.  The  number  is  very  great,  but  my  applica- 
tions are  promptly  attended  to,  and  thus  far  every  man 
has  been  released  for  whom  I  have  applied." 

During  all  these  terrible  days  of  the  bloody  siege  of 
Paris,  and  reign  of  the  Commune,  Elihu  B.  Washburne 
stood  manfully  at  his  post.  The  representatives  of 
nearly  every  other  foreign  nation  fled  in  dismay,  fear- 


ELIHU  B.  WASHBURNE.  22S 

\ 
ing  for  their  lives.     The  American  Minister  remained. 

Shells  exploded  within  a  few  yards  of  his  office,  fires 
raged,  great  walls,  pillars,  and  ancient  monuments 
tottered  and  fell  all  about  him,  but  still  he  would  not 
forsake  the  trust  which  his  Government  had  given  into 
his  keeping.  From  the  windows  of  his  apartments  he 
saw  all  Paris  in  flames;  he  saw  the  streets  of  the  great 
capital  literally  running  with  blood;  he  saw  men  shot 
down;  he  was  saluted  day  and  night  by  the  hoarse  yells 
of  drunken  madmen,  and  by  the  groans  of  the  dying; 
but  through  every  horror  he  still  remained  at  his  post. 

For  his  heroic  services  during  the  siege  of  Paris  and 
the  terrible  reign  of  the  Commune,  Minister  Wash- 
burne  received  the  sincere  thanks  of  thousands  of 
individuals  whom  he  had  aided,  and  of  several  nations 
and  high  public  officers.  The  German  Government, 
to  subjects  of  which  he  was  of  untold  benefit,  was 
particularly  warm  in  expressions  of  gratitude. 

Mr.  Washburne  was  practically  the  Prussian  Minis- 
ter at  Paris  for  nearly  a  year;  was  guardian  of  the 
archives  of  the  German  Embassy,  and  was  charged 
with  the  protection  of  all  Germans  and  German  inter- 
ests in  France  during  all  that  time. 

A  very  considerable  event  in  the  earlier  days  of  the 
siege,  was  the  sudden  appearance  in  Paris  of  Gen. 
*Burnside,  now  United  States  Senator  for  Rhode  Island, 

12 


224  SELF-MADE  MEN. 

and  Paul  Forbes.  In  one  of  his  letters  to  Mr.  Wash- 
burne, Bismarck  was  inclined  to  claim  some  credit  for 
his  liberality  in  allowing  these  two  distinguished 
gentlemen  to  enter  Paris,  but  states  that  "  This  liberal- 
ity of  ours  has  been  rewarded  by  those  excellent 
cigars  you  have  been  kind  enough  to  send  me." 

Some  time  after  the  close  of  the  war  the  Emperor 
Wilhelm  conferred  upon  Mr.  Washburne  the  Order  of 
the  Red  Eagle,  one  of  the  highest  within  his  gift,  and 
accompanied  it  by  a  jeweled  star  of  great  value  and 
exquisite  workmanship.  This,  because  of  a  constitu- 
tional provision  which  prohibits  United  States  Minis- 
ters from  accepting  foreign  orders,  Mr.  Washburne  was 
compelled  to  decline.  Still,  desiring  to  show  to  him 
some  mark  of  appreciation,  the  Emperor,  on  the  eve 
of  his  departure  for  America,  sent  him  his  portrait, 
accompanied  by  a  highly  eulogistic  letter. 

After  serving  the  United  States  in  Paris  for  nearly 
nine  years,  Mr.  Washburne,  at  the  commencement  of 
President  Haves'  term  of  service,  asked  to  be  recalled. 
Returning  to  this  country,  he  made  his  home  in 
Chicago,  and  is  now  living  in  this  city  the  quiet  life  of 
a  private  citizen.  Still  enjoying  the  full  strength  and 
health  of  robust  manhood,  he  passes  most  of  his  time 
in  literary  pursuits.  In  his  lofty  and  commodious 
library,  surrounded  by  many  rare  engravings,  books, 


ELIHU  B.  WASHBURNE. 


225 


and  manuscripts  in  various  languages,  he  is  at  all  times 
easily  accessible  to  those  who  desire  to  see  him.  His 
long  residence  at  foreign  conrts,  among  princes  and 
grandees,  has  in  no  way  changed  him.  He  is,  as  he 
always  has  been,  a  courteous,  straightforward,  plain- 
spoken  American  gentleman.  He  is  a  representative 
American  citizen  who  has  won  success  by  working  for 
it.  He  is  a  living  example  of  what  greatness,  under 
our  liberal  institutions,  can  be  achieved  even  by  those 
of  the  humblest  origin.  He  has  been  highly  honored 
by  his  country,  and  it  can  with  all  truth  be  said  that 
he  has  deserved  every  honor  he  has  received. 


DWIGHT  LYMAN  MOODY. 


'NQUESTIONABLY  the  foremost  among  the 
evangelists  of  modern  times  is  D wight  Lyman 
Moody.  Born  on  the  5th  day  of  February, 
1837,  at  Northfield,  Mass.,  his  parents  occupying  a 
humble  position  in  life,  he  received  a  very  limited 
education,  but  his  religious  training,  guided  by  the 
wise  counsels  and  fervent  prayers  of  a  loving,  Christian 
mother,  was  such  as  to  mold  a  nature  which,  in  the 
large  Christianity  of  its  general  tone,  has  brought 
comfort  and  heavenly  peace  to  the  hearts  of  tens  of 
thousands,  lowly  and  high  born,  who  have  listened  to 
the  simple,  earnest,  and  unaffected  exposition  of  the 
teachings  of  the  Saviour  of  the  world. 

Mr.  Moody  left  the  place  of  his  birth  at  an  early 
age,  and  went  to  Boston.  Thrown  upon  the  world,  he 
soon  developed  that  self-reliant  spirit  and  fertility  of 
resource  which  has  since  characterized  his  career,  and 


D WIGHT  LYMAN  MOODY.  229 

distinguished  him  above  all  others  as  a  reformer  and 
missionary  leader.  Although  he  was  a  constant 
attendant  at  the  Northfield  Unitarian  Church,  upon 
his  arrival  in  Boston  he  does  not  appear  to  have  had 
any  decided  religious  opinion  or  predilection  for  any 
particular  sect  or  creed,  because  in  that  city  he  joined 
the  Congregational  Church,  and  identified  himself  with 
the  Sabbath  school  of  that  body.  Here  it  was  that  he, 
aided  by  a  faithful  teacher,  was  led  to  that  condition 
of  Christian  hope,  to  give  which  to  his  fellow  crea- 
tures he  has  labored  so  earnestly  and  diligently 
throughout  the  English-speaking  world. 

After  a  brief  residence  in  Boston,  a  desire  to  better 
his  condition  in  life  induced  him  to  come  to  Chicago, 
where  he  arrived  about  the  latter  part  of  1855.  His 
career  here  is  well-known — how,  by  painstaking,  metho- 
,  dical  devotion  to  business,  the  sweet  spirit  of  true 
Christianity  permeating  all  his  actions,  he  gained  the 
confidence  of  his  employes  and  the  esteem  of  his 
fellows;  and  how,  although  scrupulous  in  his  attention 
to  business  duties,  he  found  time  and  opportunity  to 
enter  into  religious  work  with  that  spirit  of  glorious 
enthusiasm  which  seems  to  illustrate  his  whole  soul, 
and  which  very  soon  made  him  conspicuous  in  every 
important  religious  work  in  Chicago.  An  active  mem- 
ber of  the  Young  Men's  Christian  Association,  he 


230  SELF-MADE  MEN. 

sought,  and  fruitfully,  by  untried  means  to  bring  the 
souls  of  men  and  women  nearer  to  Christ,  and  it  is 
well  known  that  to  his  diligence  and  indefatigable 
efforts  in  the  missionary  field,  the  position  which  that 
institution  holds  to-day  as  a  useful  organization,  is  in 
no  small  degree  to  be  attributed.  So  well  did  he 
acquit  himself  in  the  work  of  the  society,  and  so  deep 
an  impression  did  he  make  in  the  good  opinion  of  its 
members,  that  they  finally  elected  him  president. 

In  August,  1862,  Mr.  Moody  was  married  to  Miss 
Emma  C.  Revell,  of  Chicago,  a  lady  well  qualified  by 
her  tastes  and  talents  to  aid  him  in  his  work.  The 
union  is  said  to  be  a  happy  one,  and  his  home  is 
cheerful,  joyous,  and  eminently  Christian  in  its  char- 
acter. 

But  Mr.  Moody's  labors  have  been  subject  to  seri- 
ous interruptions  and  embarrassments.  The  great  fire, 
which  desolated  the  city,  swept  away  his  own  happy 
home,  and  left  the  people  he  had  collected  around 
him  without  a  church  in  which  to  worship,  and  de- 
prived the  children  whom  he  loved  so  tenderly  of  the 
Sabbath  school  privileges  they  had  learned  to  prize  so 
highly.  Confusion,  distrust  and  destitution  prevailed 
on  every  side.  Many  would  have  abandoned  the  work, 
but  he  seemed  only  the  more  resolved  to  prosecute  it. 
Farwell  Hall  yielded  to  the  flames,  and  Mr.  Moody 


DWIGHT  LYMAN  MOODY.  231 

I 

and  his  friends,  instead  of  being  cast  down  at  the 
sight  of  its  ashes,  went  energetically  to  work  and 
reared  upon  its  ruins  a  still  more  magnificent  struc- 
ture. 

The  most  distinctive  trait  of  this  extraordinary 
man's  character  is  his  entire  concentration  to  the  work 
of  his  life.  His  implicit  reliance  upon  his  God 
smacks  of  the  old  days  when  Christ  commanded  the 
humble  fishermen  to  put  their  trust  entirely  in  Him, 
and  take  up  the  cross  and  preach  the  Gospel.  This 
Mr.  Moody  has  literally  done.  With  a  heroism  that 
grace  alone  could  inspire,  he  abandoned  his  secular 
calling,  with  all  its  promise  of  gain,  and  affirmed  that 
he  would  devote  his  life  to  God.  Remonstrances  and 
entreaties  from  friends  to  abandon  his  plan  were  of  no 
avail.  He  merely  answered,  "  God  will  provide." 

His  idea  was  seconded  by  Mr.  Ira  D.  Sankey,  whose 
charming  singing  and  rendition  of  the  simple  Chris- 
tian songs  have  captivated  the  attention  and  filled  with 
overwhelming  emotion  the  souls  of  thousands.  These 
two  men,  after  laboring  together  in  Chicago  for  about 
two  years,  receiving  no  stated  salary,  but  merely  rely- 
ing upon  Providence  for  the  supply  of  their  wants, 
accepted  invitations  to  visit  Europe  as  evangelists. 

They  landed  at  Liverpool  on  the  iyth  of  June, 
.1873,  where  they  unfurled  the  banner  of  the  cross,  and 


232  SELF-MADE  MEN. 

the  whole  world  is  familiar  with  their  remarkable  suc- 
cess. In  London,  Birmingham,  Manchester,  Liver- 
pool, Glasgow,  and  Edinburgh,  and,  in  fact,  all  over 
Great  Britain  and  Ireland,  his  great  Christianity,  his 
renunciation  of  all  priestly  authority,  his  earnest  and 
simple  assurance  to  the  people  that  the  commonest 
and  the  highest  among  them  could  work  out  their  own 
salvation  if  they  would,  by  simply,  lovingly,  and  duti- 
fully following  our  Saviour,  requiring  the  mediation  of 
no  erring  man,  disarmed  prejudice  and  won  the  hearts 
of  the  multitudes  to  Jesus.  Lords  and  ladies,  cultured 
and  refined,  professors  high  in  the  theology  of  all 
times,  and  laborers  in  the  hundreds  of  highways  and 
byways  of  life,  all  crowded  eagerly  to  hear  the  old, 
old  story  told  in  a  plain,  unvarnished  way. 

They  remained  abroad  nearly  two  years.  Return- 
ing to  America,  after  a  brief  period  of  repose,  they 
began  work  again  in  Northfield,  Mass.,  on  the  pth  day 
of  September,  1875.  Their  wonderful  work  in  Britain 
had  prepared  the  way  for  their  success  at  home,  and 
wherever  they  went  immense  audiences  greeted  them 
with  welcome  and  delight. 

The  first  great  meeting  in  this  country  took  place  at 
the  Brooklyn  rink  on  Sunday,  the  24th  of  October, 
1875.  An  audience  of  some  10,000  gathered  within 
the  building  and  over  20,000  assembled  outside,  unable 


DWIGHT  LYMAN  MOODY.  233 

to  obtain  admission.  From  the  very  first  the  interest 
was  intense,  and  at  every  meeting  thousands  failed  to 
obtain  admission,  so  great  was  the  desire  of  the  people 
to  attend  the  services.  So  it  was  with  the  Philadel- 
phia meetings,  which  began  on  the  2ist  of  November, 
and  his  work  in  the  city  of  New  York,  beginning  on 
the  yth  of  February,  1876,  obtained  the  same  results. 

The  religious  work  of  these  two  men,  both  in  the 
Eastern  States  and  Europe,  has  been  incalculable  in 
its  beneficial  results.  Bibles  long  closed  have  been 
reverently  opened,  and  to-day  their  sacred  truths 
gleam  upon  many  minds  with  a  new  light.  The  spirit 
of  evangelism  has  been  quickened  and  developed  in 
new  and  efficient  ways. 

In  Chicago  an  immense  tabernacle  was  built,  capa- 
ble of  accommodating  over  7,000  people,  and  this 
capacious  building  was  daily  filled  to  overflowing.  As 
a  result  of  these  meetings,  several  hundred  members 
were  added  to  various  churches  in  the  city 

And  all  the  foregoing  wonderful  revivals  were 
accomplished  by  a  plain,  uneducated,  but  earnest  and 
faithful  worker  in  the  Lord's  vineyard. 

If  you  feel  that  you  would  like  to  travel  in  the  same 
road,  then  study  closely  Mr.  Moody's  life,  and  look 
around  you  and  see  if  there  are  not  similar  opportu- 
nities for  doing  good.  But  if  you  feel  that  you  would 


234  SELF-MADE  MEN. 

much  rather  be  a  business  man,  then  remember  that 
the  place  you  really  wish  for  is  the  place  you  will  do 
the  most  good  in;  for  no  one  having  a  distaste  for  his 
employment  will  ever  attain  to  the  highest  degree  of 
success  in  it. 

We  append  a  sketch  of  "The  School  on  the 
Sands,"  where  Mr.  Moody  gained  the  training  which 
has  helped  him  so  well  during  his  bur,y  life. 


THE  SCHOOL  ON  THE  "  SANDS  "  IN  CHICAGO. 

It  is  nearly  twenty  years  since  Mr.  Moody  started 
the  Mission  Sunday-school  in  Chicago  that  was  to  be 
to  him  in  turn  a  training  school  for  his  great  work  as 
an  evangelist.  He  was  then  a  salesman  in  a  whole- 
sale boot  and  shoe  house.  On  week  days  his  steam- 
engine  energy  found  full  play  in  the  effort  to  sell  more 
goods  than  any  other  man  in  the  establishment.  On 
Sundays  he  worked  just  as  hard.  He  rented  four 
pews  in  Plymouth  church,  of  which  he  was  a  member, 
and  in  the  morning  he  raked  boarding-houses,  saloons 
and  street  corners  for  young  men  to  fill  them.  In  the 
afternoon  he  plunged  into  Sunday-school  work.  Re- 
cruiting was  his  forte.  It  is  said  that  he  helped  build 
up,  in  turn,  over  a  dozen  different  schools,  as  he  found 
one  after  another  that  seemed  to  need  his  help.  He 


DWIGHT  LYMAN  MOODY.  235 

stepped  over  denominational  lines  as  easily  in  those 
days  as  now.  It  mattered  little  to  him  whether  a 
school  was  under  Methodist,  Congregational,  or  Pres- 
byterian management,  if  so  be  he  got  the  gamins  of 
the  street  under  Sunday  school  influences. 

His  one  trouble  in  this  work  was  that  the  youngsters 
who  needed  Sunday-school  instruction  the  most  could 
not  be  persuaded  to  come  to  the  ordinary  school — or 
could  not  be  kept  there  if  once  they  were  coaxed  in. 
They  were  too  untamed — too  ill  at  ease  among  well- 
dressed  and  well-behaved  children.  So,  more  to  catch 
the  fish  that  slipped  through  the  nets  of  the  other 
schools  than  for  any  other  reason,  he  decided  to  start 
a  school  of  his  own  on  the  Sands.  This  was  the  name 
of  a  poverty-stricken,  whisky-ridden,  crime-steeped 
locality  on  the  north  side — the  Five  Points  of  Chicago. 

Hiring  an  unfurnished  room  that  had  been  last  used 
for  a  saloon,  he  started  out  to  drum  up  scholars  to  fill 
it.  At  first  the  young  Arabs  fought  shy.  Then  he 
filled  his  pockets  with  maple  sugar,  and  judiciously 
distributing  it  among  those  who  promised  to  come, 
the  room  soon  overflowed,  and  he  was  obliged  to  look 
up  larger  quarters.  These  were  found  in  a  hall  over 
the  North  Market,  from  which  the  school  took  the 
name  by  which  it  was  known  for  several  years.  To 
give  an  idea  of  the  neighborhood  in  which  the  school 


236  SELF-MADE  MEN. 

vras  planted,  it  is  said  that  Moody,  speaking  from  the 
steps  of  the  hall  entrance  could  make  his  voice  heard 
in  the  doors  of  200  saloons.  Here  he  and  his  helpers 
gathered  a  school  that  within  a  year  had  an  average 
attendance  of  650  scholars,  and  soon  ran  up  to  1,000. 
There  was  probably  never  another  school  just  like 
it.  At  first  there  were  no  seats  even  in  the  room,  and 
for  some  time  none  of  the  "  Sunday-school  requisites  " 
of  the  advertisements— no  blackboard,  no  library,  no 
maps,  no  banners.  But  it  was  a  live  school;  so  thor- 
oughly wide-awake  that  at  first  the  teachers  considered 
it  a  satisfactory  day's  work  when  they  had  been  able 
to  do  a  little  singing  and  keep  the  turbulent  member- 
ship sufficiently  quiet  to  hear  a  little  talking.  It  was 
a  cardinal  doctrine  that  the  worse  a  boy  was  the  more 
necessity  there  was  of  keeping  him  in  the  school. 
Such  a  confession  of  failure  as  the  expulsion  of  a 
scholar  was  not  to  be  thought  of.  Great  was  the 
ingenuity  and  patience  required  to  manage  some  of 
the  hard  cases.  There  is  a  story  of  one  young  rough 
who  seemed  to  defy  all  the  efforts  to  tame  him.  There 
was  danger  that  his  riotous  behavior  would  break  up 
the  school.  Having  meditated  and  prayed  over  the 
matter  all  the  week,  Moody  came  to  school  one  Sun- 
day persuaded  that  there  was  but  one  remedy  that 
would  reach  his  case,  and  that  was  a  good  thrashing. 


DWIGHT  LYMAN  MOODY.  237 

Coming  up  behind  the  young  rowdy  he  clasped  his 
arms  around  him,  lifted  him  from  his  feet  and  shoved 
him  through  the  open  door  of  a  little  ante-room. 
Locking  the  door  he  proceeded  to  business.  The 
culprit  was  well  endowed  with  muscle.  But  so  was 
Moody.  The  excitement  in  the  school-room  was 
drawn  off  by  singing  until  the  two  re-appeared,  after  a 
somewhat  prolonged  and  noisy  "  interview "  in  the 
ante-room.  Both  were  evidently  well  warmed  up,  but 
the  result  was  manifest  in  the  chastened  bearing  of 
the  offender.  "  It  was  hard  work,"  remarked  Moody, 
"but  I  guess  we  have  saved  him."  And  they  had! 
More  than  that,  this  exhibition  of  muscular  Christian- 
ity was  a  new  claim  on  the  admiration  of  the  school, 
and  Moody's  will  was  law  among  them  thereafter.  He 
had  demonstrated  his  ability  to  keep  order,  and  forth- 
with found  many  helpers.  One  day  an  old  scholar 
coming  up  the  aisle  espied  a  raw  recruit  with  his  cap 
on.  Snatching  it  off,  he  hit  the  offender  a  blow  that 
sent  him  at  full  length  upon  the  floor.  "  I'll  learn  you 
better  than  to  wear  your  cap  on  in  this  school,"  was 
the  sententious  explanation  as  he  passed  on  to  his 
own  seat  with  the  air  of  one  who  was  ready  to  do  his 
duty. 

It  was  not  easy  to  find  suitable  teachers  for  the  hard- 
bitted  classes  which   made    up    such  a  school.     And 


238  SELF-MADE  MEN. 

there,  as  in  other  schools,  it  was  not  always  easy  to 
get  rid  of  unsuitable  teachers.  But  a  plan  was  hit 
upon  that  worked  to  a  charm.  No  teacher  could  do 
such  children  good  unless  he  could  interest  them.  So 
a  rule  was  made,  giving  a  scholar  the  privilege,  under 
certain  limitations,  of  leaving  his  class  when  he  chose 
and  going  into  another  one.  The  result  was  that  the 
superintendent  was  relieved  from  the  unpleasant  task 
of  taking  a  dull  teacher's  class  away  from  him.  For 
the  class,  one  by  one,  quickly  took  itself  away.  And 
thus  there  came  about  a  "  survival  of  fittest "  teachers 
that  would  have  delighted  Darwin  himself. 

Moody  put  a  vast  amount  of  work  into  the  school. 
His  evenings  and  Sundays  were  spent  in  skirmishing 
about  the  Sands,  looking  after  old  scholars  and  look- 
ing up  new  ones.  He  never  believed  that  there  was 
anything  that  any  sinner  needed  so  much  as  he  needed 
the  Gospel.  But  along  with  the  Gospel  he  carried  a 
great  deal  of  relief  for  the  sick,  the  unemployed  and 
the  unfortunate.  He  was  the  almoner  not  only  of  his 
own  charity,  but  of  the  gifts  of  many  friends  who 
became  interested  in  his  work.  His  old  employer 
says  that  he  has  seen  as  many  as  twenty  children  come 
into  the  store  at  once  to  be  fitted  out  with  new  shoes 
gratuitously. 

Whep  he  finally  gave  up  business  altogether,  that 


DWIGHT  LYMAN  MOODY.  239 

he  might  devote  all  his  time  to  missionary  labor,  he 
bought  a  pony  to  facilitate  his  work.  Mounting  it  on 
Sunday  he  would  go  skirmishing  through  the  streets 
and  alleys  on  the  search  for  new  scholars.  Coming 
back  at  the  hour  for  school,  the  patient  pony  would 
sometimes  be  loaded,  from  its  ears  to  its  haunches, 
with  ragged  urchins  while  the  later  recruits  hung  on 
by  the  stirrups  or  tail! 

Numerous  were  the  conversions,  wonderful  the 
transformations  that  were  continually  occurring  among 
these  children  and  youth.  One  cold  day  in  February, 
a  wild  lad  made  his  appearance  at  the  school-room 
door.  He  was  clad  in  a  man's  overcoat— its  rags  tied 
together  with  strings.  His  legs  were  wrapped  with 
papers,  and  a  big  pair  of  shoes  completed  his  winter 
costume.  Mr.  Moody  caught  sight  of  him,  gave  him 
his  hand,  found  him  a  place  in  a  class,  with  as  cordial 
and  kindly  attention  as  he  could  have  shown  the  most 
welcome  visitor.  A  gentleman  who  happened  to  be 
visiting  the  school  that  day  was  moved  to  tears  by  the 
wretched  plight  of  the  boy.  After  the  exercises  were 
over  he  took  him  home  and  gave  him  a  full  suit  of 
clothes  belonging  to  his  own  son.  The  boy,  thus  be- 
friended, continued  coming  to  the  school,  was  con- 
verted, and  is  now  a  Sunday-school  superintendent 
himself. — Sunday-school  Times* 


GEORGE    PEABODY. 


PEABODY  came  of  an  old  English 
family,  which  traced  its  descent  back  to  the 
year  of  our  Lord  61,  the  days  of  the  heroic 
Boadicea,  down  through  the  brilliant  circle  of  the 
Knights  of  the  Round  Table,  to  Francis  Peabody, 
who  in  1635  went  from  St.  Albans,.in  Hertfordshire,  to 
the  New  World,  and  settled  in  Danvers,  Massachusetts, 
where  the  subject  of  this  memoir  was  born  one  hun- 
dred and  sixty  years  later,  on  the  i8th  of  February, 
1795.  The  parents  of  George  Peabody  were  poor, 
and  hard  work  was  the  lot  to  which  he  was  born,  a  lot 
necessary  to  develop  his  sterling  qualities  of  mind  and 
heart.  He  was  possessed  of  a  strong,  vigorous  con- 
stitution, and  a  quick,  penetrating  intellect.  His  edu- 
cation was  limited,  for  he  was  taken  from  school  at 
the  age  of  eleven,  and  a^t  to  earning  his  living.  Upon 
leaving  school,  he  was  apprenticed  in  a  "  countrj 


GEORGE  PEABODY. 


GEORGE  PEABODY.  243 

store  "  in  Danvers.  Here  he  worked  hard  and  faith- 
fully for  four  or  five  years.  His  mind  matured  more 
rapidly  than  his  body,  and  he  was  a  man  in  intellect 
long  before  he  was  out  of  his  teens.  Having  gained 
all  the  information  it  was  possible  to  acquire  in  so 
small  an  establishment,  he  began  to  wish  for  a  wider 
field  for  the  exercise  of  his  abilities. 

Accordingly,  he  left  Mr.  Proctor's  employment,  and 
spent  a  year  with  his  maternal  grandfather  at  Post 
Mills  village,  Thetford,  Vermont.  "  George  Peabody's 
year  at  Post  Mills,"  says  a  writer  who  knew  him, 
"  must  have  been  a  year  of  intense  quiet,  with  good 
examples  always  before  him,  and  good  advice  when- 
ever occasion  called  for  it;  for  Mr.  Dodge  and  his  wife 
were  both  too  shrewd  to  bore  him  with  it  needlessly. 

"  It  was  on  his  return  from  this  visit  that  he  spent  a 
night  at  a  tavern  in  Concord,  N.  H.,  and  paid  for  his 
entertainment  by  sawing  wood  the  next  morning. 
That,  however,  must  have  been  a  piece  of  George's 
own  voluntary  economy,  for  Jeremiah  Dodge  would 
never  have  sent  his  grandson  home  to  Danvers  with- 
out the  means  of  procuring  the  necessaries  of  life  on 
the  way,  and  still  less,  if  possible,  would  Mrs.  Dodge. 

"  The  interest  with  which  Mr.  Peabody  remembered 
this  visit  to  Post  Mills  is  shown  by  his  second  visit  so 
late  in  life,  and  his  gift  of  a  library — as  large  a 

13 


244  SELF-MADE  MEN. 

library  as  that  place  needs.  Of  its  influence  on  his 
subsequent  career,  of  course,  there  is  no  record. 
Perhaps  it  was  not  much.  But,  at  least,  it  gave  him  a 
good  chance  for  quiet  thinking,  at  an  age  when  he 
needed  it;  and  the  labors  of  the  farm  may  have  been 
useful  both  to  mind  and  body." 

At  the  age  of  sixteen,  in  the  year  1811,  he  went  to 
Newburyport,  and  became  a  clerk  in  the  store  of  his 
elder  brother,  David  Peabody,  who  was  engaged  in  the 
dry  goods  business  at  that  place.  He  exhibited  un- 
usual capacity  and  promise  in  his  calling,  and  soon  drew 
upon  himself  the  favorable  attention  of  the  merchants 
of  the  place.  He  was  prompt,  reliable,  and  energetic, 
and  from  the  first  established  an  enviable  reputation 
for  personal  and  professional  integrity.  It  is  said  that 
he  earned  here  the  first  money  he  ever  made  outside 
of  his  business.  This  was  by  writing  ballots  for  the 
Federal  party  in  Newburyport.  Printed  ballots  had 
not  then  come  into  use. 

He  did  not  stay  long  in  Newburyport,  as  a  great 
fire,  which  burned  up  a  considerable  part  of  the  town, 
destroyed  his  brother's  store,  and  obliged  him  to  seek 
employment  elsewhere. 

"The  cause  of  Mr.  George  Peabody's  interest  in 
Newburyport  was  not  alone  that  he  had  lived  here  for 
a  brief  period,  or  that  his  relatives  had  lived  here ; 


GEORGE  PEABODY.  545 

but  rather  it  was  the  warm  friendship  that  had  been 
shown  him,  which  was,  in  fact,  the  basis  of  his  subse- 
quent prosperity.  He  left  here  in  1811,  and  returned 
in  1857.  The  forty-six  intervening  years  had  borne  to 
the  grave  most  of  the  persons  with  whom  he  had 
formed  acquaintance. 

u  Mr.  Spaulding,  an  old  friend  of  his  youth,  had 
rendered  him  the  greatest  of  services.  When  Mr. 
Peabody  left  Newburyport,  he  was  under  age,  and  not 
worth  a  dollar.  Mr.  Spaulding  gave  him  letters  of 
credit  in  Boston,  through  which  he  obtained  two 
thousand  dollars'  worth  of  merchandise  of  Mr.  James 
Reed,  who  was  so  favorably  impressed  with  his  ap- 
pearance, that  he  subsequently  gave  him  credit  for  a 
larger  amount.  This  was  his  start  in  life,  as  he  after- 
ward acknowledged;  for  at  a  public  entertainment  in 
Boston,  when  his  credit  was  good  for  any  amount,  and 
in  any  part  of  the  world,  Mr.  Peabody  laid  his  hand 
on  Mr.  Reed's  shoulder,  and  said  to  those  present, 
'  My  friends,  here  is  my  first  patron ;  and  he  is  the 
man  who  sold  me  my  first  bill  of  goods.'  After  he 
was  established  in  Georgetown,  D.  C.,  the  first  con- 
signment made  to  him  was  by  the  late  Francis  Todd, 
of  Newburyport.  It  was  from  these  facts  that  New- 
buryport was  always  pleasant  in  his  memory;  and  the 
donation  he  made  to  the  public  library  was  on  his  own 


246  SELF-MADE  MEN. 

suggestion,  that  he  desired  to  do  something  of  a  public 
nature  for  our  town." 

From  New  England,  George  Peabody  turned  his 
face  southward,  and  entered  the  employment  of  his 
uncle,  Mr.  John  Peabody,  who  was  engaged  in  the 
dry  goods  business  in  Georgetown,  in  the  District  of 
Columbia.  He  reached  that  place  in  the  spring  of 
1812;  but,  as  the  second  war  with  England  broke  out 
about  the  same  time,  was  not  able  to  give  his  imme- 
diate attention  to  business.  His  uncle  was  a  poor 
man  and  a  bad  manager,  and  for  two  years  the  busi- 
ness was  conducted  by  George  Peabody,  and  in  his 
own  name;  but  at  the  end  of  that  time,  seeing  the 
business  threatened  with  ruin  by  his  uncle's  incapacity, 
he  resigned  his  situation,  and  entered  the  service  of 
Mr.  Elisha  Riggs,  who  had  just  established  a  wholesale 
dry  goods  house  in  Georgetown.  Mr.  Riggs  furnished 
the  capital  for  the  concern,  and  Mr.  Peabody  was 
given  the  management  of  it.  Soon  after  this,  the  lat- 
ter became  a  partner  in  the  house.  It  is  said  that 
when  Mr.  Riggs  invited  Mr.  Peabody  to  become  his 
partner,  the  latter  informed  him  that  he  could  not 
legally  assume  the  responsibilities  of  the  business,  as 
he  was  only  nineteen  years  old.  This  was  no  objec- 
tion in  the  mind  of  the  merchant,  as  he  wanted  a 
young  and  active  assistant,  and  had  discerned  in  his 


GEORGE  PEABODY.  247 

boy-manager  the  qualities  which  never  fail  to  win 
success. 

The  new  business  in  which  he  was  engaged  con- 
sisted chiefly  in  the  importation  and  sale  of  European 
goods,  and  consignments  of  dry  goods  from  the 
northern  cities.  It  extended  over  a  wide  field,  and 
gave  Mr.  Peabody  a  fine  opportunity  for  the  display 
of  his  abilities.  He  worked  with  energy  and  intelli- 
gence, and  in  1815  the  business  was  found  to  be  so 
extensive  that  a  removal  to  Baltimore  became  neces- 
sary. About  this  time  a  sort  of  irregular  banking 
business  was  added  to  the  operations  of  the  house. 
This  was  chiefly  the  suggestion  of  Mr.  Peabody,  and 
proved  a  source  of  great  profit 

Mr.  Peabody  quickly  took  a  prominent  rank  among 
the  merchants  of  Baltimore.  He  was  noted  for  "  a 
judgment  quick  and  cautious,  clear  and  sound,  a 
decided  purpose,  a  firm  will,  energetic  and  persever- 
ing industry,  punctuality  and  fidelity  in  every  engage- 
ment, justice  and  honor  controlling  every  transaction, 
and  courtesy — that  true  courtesy  which  springs  from 
genuine  kindness — presiding  over  the  intercourse  of 
life."  His  business  continued  to  increase,  and  in 
1822  it  became  necessary  to  establish  branches  in 
Philadelphia  and  New  York,  over  which  Mr.  Peabody 
exercised  a  careful  supervision.  In  1827  he  went  to 


24:8  SELF-MADE  MEN. 

England  on  business  for  his  firm,  and  during  the  next 
ten  years  made  frequent  voyages  between  New  York 
and  London. 

In  1829  Mr.  Riggs  withdrew  from  the  firm,  and  Mr. 
Peabody  became  the  actual  head  of  the  house,  the 
style  of  the  firm,  which  had  previously  been  "  Riggs 
&  Peabody,"  being  changed  to  "  Peabody,  Riggs  & 
Co." 

In  1836  Mr.  Peabody  determined  to  extend  his 
business,  which  was  already  very  large,  to  England, 
and  to  open  a  branch  house  in  London.  In  1837  he 
removed  to  that  city  for  the  purpose  of  taking  charge 
of  his  house  there,  and  from  that  time  London  became 
his  home. 

The  summer  of  this  year  was  marked  by  one  of  the 
most  terrible  commercial  crises  the  United  States  has 
ever  known.  "  That  great  sympathetic  nerve  of  the 
commercial  world,  credit,"  said  Edward  Everett,  "  as 
far  as  the  United  States  was  concerned,  was  for  the 
time  paralyzed.  At  that  moment  Mr.  Peabody  not 
only  stood  firm  himself,  but  was  the  cause  of  firmness 
in  others.  There  were  not  at  that  time,  probably, 
half  a  dozen  other  men  in  Europe  who,  upon  the  sub- 
ject of  American  securities,  would  have  been  listened 
to  for  a  moment  in  the  parlor  of  the  Bank  of  England. 
But  his  judgment  commanded  respect;  his  integrity 


GEORGE  PEABODY.  249 

won  back  the  reliance  which    men   had   been   accus- 
tomed to  place  in  American  securities." 

The  conduct  of  Mr.  Peabody  in  this  crisis,  placed 
him  among  the  foremost  merchants  of  London.  He 
carried  on  his  business  upon  a  large  scale  from  his 
base  of  operations  in  that  city.  He  bought  British 
manufactures  in  all  parts  of  England  and  shipped 
them  to  the  United  States.  His  vessels  brought  back 
in  return  all  kinds  of  American  produce  which  would 
command  a  ready  sale  in  England.  Profitable  as  these 
ventures  were,  there  was  another  branch  of  his  busi- 
ness much  more  remunerative  to  him.  The  merchants 
and  manufacturers  on  both  sides  of  the  Atlantic  who 
consigned  their  goods  to  him  frequently  procured 
from  him  advances  upon  the  goods  long  before  they 
were  sold.  At  other  times  they  would  leave  large 
sums  in  his  hands  long  after  the  goods  were  disposed 
of,  knowing  that  they  could  draw  whenever  they 
needed,  and  that  in  the  meanwhile  their  money  was 
being  so  profitably  invested  that  they  were  certain  of 
a  proper  interest  for  their  loans.  Thus  Mr.  Peabody 
gradually  became  a  banker,  in  which  pursuit  he  was  as 
successful  as  he  had  been  as  a  merchant.  In  1843  he 
withdrew  from  the  house  of  Peabody,  Riggs  &  Co., 
and  established  the  house  of  "  George  Peabody  & 
Company,  of  Warnford  Court,  City." 


250  SELF-MADE  MEN. 

His  dealings  were  chiefly  with  America,  and  in 
American  securities,  and  he  was  always  regarded  as 
one  of  the  best  specimens  of  the  American  merchant 
ever  seen  in  London.  In  speaking  of  the  manner  in 
which  he  organized  his  business  establishment,  he 
once  said:  "  I  have  endeavored,  in  the  constitution  of 
its  members  and  the  character  of  its  business,  to  make 
it  an  American  house,  and  to  give  it  an,  American  at- 
mosphere; to  furnish  it  with  American  journals;  to 
make  it  a  center  of  American  news,  and  an  agreeable 
place  for  any  American  friends  visiting  London." 

In  the  year  1851,  when  it  was  thought  that  there 
would  be  no  representation  of  the  achievements  of 
American  skill  and  industry  in  the  Great  Exhibition  of 
that  year,  from  lack  of  funds,  Mr.  Peabody  generously 
supplied  the  sum  of  fifteen  thousand  dollars,  which 
enabled  the  Commissioners  to  make  a  suitable  display 
of  the  American  contributions. 

"  He  had  contributed  his  full  share,  if  not  to  the 
splendor,  at  least  to  the  utilities  of  the  exhibition.  In 
fact,  the  leading  journal  at  London,  with  a  magnanim- 
ity which  did  it  honor,  admitted  that  England  had 
derived  more  real  benefit  from  the  contributions  of 
the  United  States  than  from  those  of  any  other 
country." 

As  has  been   said,  Mr.  Peabody  made  the  bulk   of 


GEORGE  PEABODY.  251 

his  colossal  fortune  in  the  banking  business.  He  had 
a  firm  faith  in  American  securities,  and  dealt  in  them 
largely,  and  with  confidence.  His  course  was  now 
onward  and  upward,  and  each  year  marked  an  in- 
crease of  his  wealth.  His  business  operations  were 
conducted  in  pursuance  of  a  rigid  system  which  was 
never  relaxed.  To  the  very  close  of  his  life  he  never 
abandoned  the  exact  or  business-like  manner  in 
which  he  sought  to  make  money.  He  gave  away 
millions  with  a  generosity  never  excelled,  yet  he  could 
be  exacting  to  a  penny  in  the  fulfillment  of  a  contract. 

In  his  youth  he  contracted  habits  of  economy,  and 
these  he  retained  to  the  last.  Being  unmarried,  he 
did  not  subject  himself  to  the  expense  of  a  complete 
domestic  establishment,  but  lived  in  chambers,  and 
entertained  his  friends  at  his  club  or  at  a  coffee-house. 
His  habits  were  simple  in  every  respect,  and  he  was 
often  seen  making  his  dinner  on  a  mutton-chop  at  a 
table  laden  (at  his  cost)  with  the  most  sumptuous  and 
tempting  viands.  His  personal  expenses  for  ten  years 
did  not  average  three  thousand  dollars  per  annum. 

In  his  dress  Mr.  Peabody  was  simple  and  unosten- 
tatious. He  was  scrupulously  neat  and  tasteful,  but 
there  was  nothing  about  him  to  indicate  his  vast 
wealth.  He  seldom  wore  any  jewelry,  using  merely  a 
black  band  for  his  watch-guard.  Display  of  all  kinds 


252  SELF-MADE  MEN. 

he  abominated.  He  made  several  visits  to  his  native 
country  during  his  last  residence  in  London,  and  com- 
memorated each  one  of  them  by  acts  of  princely 
munificence.  He  gave  large  sums  to  the  cause  of 
education,  and  to  religious  and  charitable  objects,  and 
made  each  one  of  his  near  kindred  wealthy.  None  of 
his  relatives  received  less  than  one  hundred  thousand 
dollars,  and  some  were  given  as  much  as  three  times 
that  sum.  He  gave  immense  sums  to  the  poor  of 
London,  and  became  their  benefactor  to  such  an 
extent  that  Queen  Victoria  sent  him  her  portrait, 
which  she  had  caused  to  be  executed  for  him  at  a  cost 
of  over  forty  thousand  dollars,  in  token  of  her  appre- 
ciation of  his  services  in  behalf  of  the  poor  of  her 
realm. 

Mr.  Peabody  made  another  visit  to  the  United 
States  in  1866,  and  upon  this  occasion  added  large 
sums  to  many  of  the  donations  he  had  already  made 
in  this  country.  He  remained  here  until  May,  1867, 
when  he  returned  to  England.  He  came  back  in 
June,  1869,  but  soon  sailed  again  for  England.  His 
health  had  become  very  feeble,  and  it  was  his  belief 
that  it  would  be  better  in  the  atmosphere  of  London, 
to  which  he  had  been  so  long  accustomed.  His  hope 
of  recovery  was  vain.  He  failed  to  rally  upon  reach- 
ing London,  and  died  in  that  city  on  the  4th  of 


GEORGE  PEABODY.  253 

November,  1869.  The  news  of  his  death  created  a 
profound  sadness  on  both  sides  of  the  Atlantic,  for 
his  native  and  his  adopted  country  alike  revered  him 
as  a  benefactor.  The  Queen  caused  his  body  to  be 
placed  in  a  vault  in  Westminster  Abbey,  amidst  the 
greatest  and  noblest  of  her  kingdom,  until  all  was  in 
readiness  for  its  transportation  to  the  United  States  in 
a  royal  man-of-war.  The  Congress  of  the  United 
States  authorized  the  President  to  make  such  arrange- 
ments for  the  reception  of  the  body  as  he  should  deem 
necessary.  Sovereigns,  statesmen,  and  warriors  uni- 
ted to  do  homage  to  the  mortal  remains  of  this  plain, 
simple  man,  who,  beginning  life  a  poor  boy,  and  never 
departing  from  the  character  of  an  unassuming 
citizen,  had  made  humanity  his  debtor  by  his  generos- 
ity and  goodness.  He  was  borne  across  the  ocean 
with  kingly  honors,  two  great  nations  acting  as  chief 
mourners,  and  then,  when  the  pomp  and  the  splendor 
of  the  occasion  were  ended,  they  laid  him  down  in  his 
native  earth  by  the  side  of  the  mother  from  whom  he 
had  imbibed  those  principles  of  integrity  and  good- 
ness which  were  the  foundation  of  his  fame  and 
fortune. 

It  is  impossible  to  obtain  an  accurate  statement  of 
the  donations  made  by  Mr.  Peabody  to  the  objects 
which  enlisted  his  sympathy.  He  divided  among  his 


254  SELF-MADE  MEN. 

relatives  the  sum  of  about  three  millions  of  dollars, 
giving  them  a  portion  during  his  last  visit  to  this 
country,  and  leaving  them  the  remainder  at  his  death. 
He  donated  the  immense  sum  of  $8,470,000  to  various 
educational  and  other  worthy  objects,  over  $3,000,000 
of  which  went  to  the  poor  of  London,  England. 

The  life  of  such  a  man  affords  lessons  full  of  hope 
and  encouragement  to  others.  In  1856,  when  on  a 
visit  to  Danvers,  now  named  Peabody,  in  honor  of 
him,  its  most  distinguished  son  and  greatest  benefac- 
tor, he  said: 

"  Though  Providence  has  granted  me  an  unvaried 
and  unusual  success  in  the  pursuit  of  fortune  in  other 
lands,  I  am  still  in  heart  the  humble  boy  who  left 
yonder  unpretending  dwelling.  There  is  not  a  youth 
within  the  sound  of  my  voice  whose  early  opportu- 
nities and  advantages  are  not  very  much  greater  than 
were  my  own,  and  I  have  since  achieved  nothing  that 
is  impossible  to  the  most  humble  boy  among  you." 


CORNELIUS  VANDERBILT. 


CORNELIUSVANDERBILT. 


^~EVENTY-SIX  years  ago,  Staten  Island  was  a 

1_^V 

mere  country  settlement,  and  its  communica- 
tions with  the  city  were  maintained  by  means 
of  a  few  sail-boats,  which  made  one  trip  each  way 
per  day. 

One  of  these  boats  was  owned  and  navigated  by 
Cornelius  Vanderbilt,  a  thriving  farmer,  who  owned  a 
small  but  well  cultivated  estate  on  Staten  Island,  near 
the  present  Quarantine  Grounds.  He  was  a  man  of 
exemplary  character  and  great  industry.  Having  a 
considerable  amount  of  produce  to  sell  in  the  city,  he 
purchased  a  boat  of  his  own  for  the  purpose  of  trans- 
porting it  thither.  Frequently,  residents  of  the  island 
would  secure  passage  in  this  boat  to  the  city  in  the 
morning,  and  return  with  it  in  the  evening.  He 
realized  a  considerable  sum  of  money  in  this  way,  and 
finally  ran  his  boat  regularly  between  the  island  and 


258  SELF-MADE  MEN. 

the  city.  This  was  the  beginning  of  the  New  York 
and  Staten  Island  Ferry.  His  wife  was  a  woman  of 
more  than  usual  character,  and  aided  him  nobly  in 
making  his  way  in  the  world. 

This  admirable  couple  were  blessed  with  nine  chil- 
dren. The  oldest  of  these,  CORNELIUS,  the  subject  of 
this  sketch,  was  born  at  the  old  farm-house  on  Staten 
Island,  on  the  2yth  of  May,  1794.  He  was  a  healthy, 
active  boy,  fond  of  all  manner  of  out-door  sports,  and 
manifesting  an  unusual  repugnance  to  the  confinement 
and  labors  of  the  school-room.  He  has  since  declared 
that  the  only  books  he  remembers  using  at  school 
were  the  New  Testament  and  the  spelling-book.  The 
result  was,  that  he  merely  learned  to  read,  write,  and 
cipher,  and  that  imperfectly.  He  was  passionately 
fond  of  the  water,  and  was  never  so  well  pleased  as 
when  his  father  allowed  him  to  assist  in  sailing  his 
boat.  When  he  set  himself  to  accomplish  any  thing, 
he  was  not,  like  most  boys,  deterred  by  the  difficulties 
of  his  undertaking,  but  persevered  until  success 
crowned  his  efforts.  So  early  did  he  establish  his 
reputation  for  overcoming  obstacles,  that  his  boyish 
friends  learned  to  regard  any  task  which  he  undertook 
as  already  virtually  performed. 

Young  Vanderbilt  was  always  anxious  to  become  a 
sailor,  and,  as  he  approached  his  seventeenth  year,  he 


CORNELIUS  VANDERBILT.  259 

determined  to  begin  life  as  a  boatman  in  the  harbor 
of  New  York.  On  the  ist  of  May,  1810,  he  informed 
his  mother  of  his  determination,  and  asked  her  to 
lend  him  one  hundred  dollars  to  buy  a  boat.  The 
good  lady  had  always  opposed  her  son's  wish  to  go  to 
sea,  and  regarded  this  new  scheme  as  equally  hair- 
brained.  As  a  means  of  discouraging  him,  she  told 
him  if  he  would  plow,  harrow,  and  plant  with  corn  a 
certain  ten-acre  lot  belonging  to  the  farm,  by  the 
twenty-seventh  of  that  month,  on  which  day  he  would 
be  seventeen  years  old,  she  would  lend  him  the  money. 
The  field  was  the  worst  in  the  whole  farm;  it  was 
rough,  hard,  and  stony;  but  by  the  appointed  time  the 
work  was  done,  and  well  done,  and  the  boy  claimed 
and  received  his  money.  He  hurried  off  to  a  neigh- 
boring village,  and  bought  his  boat,  in  which  he  set 
out  for  home.  He  had  not  gone  far,  however,  when 
the  boat  struck  a  sunken  wreck,  and  filled  so  rapidly 
that  the  boy  had  barely  time  to  get  into  shoal  water 
before  it  sank. 

"Undismayed  at  this  mishap,"  says  Mr.  Parton, 
from  whose  graphic  memoir  the  leading  incidents  of 
this  sketch  are  taken,  "  he  began  his  new  career.  His 
success,  as  we  have  intimated,  was  speedy  and  great. 
He  made  a  thousand  dollars  during  each  of  the  next 
three  summers.  Often  he  worked  all  night;  but  he  was 


260  SELF-MADE  MEN. 

never  absent  from  his  post  by  day,  and  he  soon  had 
the  cream  of  the  boating  business  of  the  port. 

"  At  that  day  parents  claimed  the  services  and  earn- 
ings of  their  children  till  they  were  twenty-one.  In 
other  words,  families  made  common  cause  against  the 
common  enemy,  Want.  The  arrangement  between  this 
young  boatman  and  his  parents  was,  that  he  should 
give  them  all  his  day  earnings  and  half  his  night  earn- 
ings. He  fulfilled  his  engagement  faithfully  until  his 
parents  released  him  from  it,  and  with  his  own  half  of 
his  earnings  by  night,  he  bought  all  his  clothes. 

"  He  soon  became  the  best  boatman  in  the  port. 
He  had  no  vices.  In  those  three  years  of  willing 
servitude  to  his  parents,  Cornelius  Vanderbilt  added 
to  the  family's  common  stock  of  wealth,  and  gained 
for  himself  three  things— a  perfect  knowledge  of  his 
business,  habits  of  industry  and  self-control,  and  the 
best  boat  in  the  harbor." 

During  the  war  of  1812,  young  Vanderbilt  was  kept 
very  busy.  The  travel  between  the  harbor  defenses 
and  the  city  was  very  great,  and  boatmen  were  in 
demand. 

In  1813  he  determined  to  marry.  He  had  wooed 
and  won  the  heart  of  Sophia  Johnson,  the  daughter  of 
a  neighbor,  and  he  now  asked  his  parents'  consent  to 
his  marriage,  and  in  the  winter  of  1813  he  was  married. 


CORNELIUS  VANDERBILT.  261 

His  wife  was  a  woman  of  unusual  personal  beauty  ana 
strength  of  character,  and  proved  the  best  of  partners. 
He  has  often  declared  since  that  he  owed  his  success 
in  life  as  much  to  her  counsel  and  assistance  as  to  his 
own  efforts. 

In  the  spring  of  1814,  when  it  was  expected  that 
New  York  would  be  attacked  by  a  formidable  British 
military  and  naval  expedition,  he  was  awarded  the 
contract  for  conveying  provisions  from  New  York  to 
the  various  military  posts  in  the  vicinity.  This  con- 
tract exempted  him  from  military  duty. 

There  were  six  posts  to  be  supplied — Harlem,  Hell 
Gate,  Ward's  Island,  the  Narrows,  and  one  other  in 
the  harbor,  each  of  which  was  to  be  furnished  with 
one  load  per  week.  The  young  contractor  performed 
all  the  duties  of  his  contract  at  night,  which  left  him 
free  to  attend  to  his  boating  during  the  day.  He  never 
failed  to  make  a  single  delivery  of  stores,  or  to  be 
absent  from  his  post  on  the  beach  at  Whitehall  one 
single  day  during  the  whole  three  months.  He  was 
often  without  sleep,  and  performed  an  immense 
amount  of  labor  during  this  period. 

He  made  a  great  deal  of  money  that  summer,  and 
with  his  earnings  built  a  splendid  little  schooner, 
which  he  named  the  "  Dread."  In  1815,  in  connec- 
tion with  his  brother-in-law,  Captain  De  Forrest,  he 
14 


262  SELF-MADE  MEN. 

built  a  fine  schooner,  called  the  "  Charlotte,"  for  the 
coasting  service.  She  was  celebrated  for  the  beauty 
of  her  model  and  her  great  speed.  During  the  three 
years  succeeding  the  termination  of  the  war  he  saved 
nine  thousand  dollars  in  cash,  and  built  two  or  three 
small  vessels.  This  was  his  condition  in  1818. 

In  1818,  to  the  surprise  and  dismay  of  his  friends, 
he  gave  up  his  flourishing  business,  in  order  to  accept 
the  captaincy  of  a  steamboat  which  was  offered  him 
by  Mr.  Thomas  Gibbons.  The  salary  attached  to  this 
position  was  one  thousand  dollars.  He  was  given 
command  of  a  steamboat  plying  between  New  York 
and  New  Brunswick. 

Passengers  to  Philadelphia,  at  that  day,  were  trans- 
ported by  steamer  from  New  York  to  New  Bruns- 
wick, where  they  remained  all  night.  The  next  morn- 
ing they  took  the  stage  for  Trenton,  from  which  they 
were  conveyed  by  steamer  to  Philadelphia.  The 
hotel  at  New  Brunswick  was  a  miserable  affair.  When 
Captain  Vanderbilt  took  command  of  the  steamer,  he 
was  offered  the  hotel  rent  free,  and  accepted  the  offer. 
He  placed  the  house  in  charge  of  his  wife,  under 
whose  vigorous  administration  it  soon  acquired  a  great 
popularity. 

For  seven  years  he  was  harassed  and  hampered  by 
the  hostility  of  the  State  of  New  York,  which  had 


CORNELIUS  VANDERBILT.  263 

granted  to  Fulton  and  Livingston  the  sole  right  to 
navigate  New  York  waters  by  steam.  Thomas  Gib- 
bons believed  this  law  to  be  unconstitutional,  and  ran 
his  boats  in  defiance  of  it.  The  authorities  of  the 
State  resented  his  disregard  of  their  monopoly,  and  a 
long  and  vexatious  warfare  sprang  up  between  them, 
which  was  ended  only  in  1824,  by  the  decision  of  the 
Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States  in  favor  of  Mr. 
Gibbons. 

After  the  decision  of  the  Supreme  Court  placed  Mr. 
Gibbons  in  the  full  enjoyment  of  his  rights,  Captain 
Vanderbilt  was  allowed  to  manage  the  line  in  his  own 
way,  and  conducted  it  with  so  much  skill  and  vigor 
that  it  paid  its  owner  an  annual  profit  of  forty  thousand 
dollars.  Mr.  Gibbons  offered  to  increase  his  salary  to 
five  thousand  dollars,  but  he  refused  to  accept  the 
offer. 

"  I  did  it  on  principle,"  he  said,  afterward.  "  The 
other  captains  had  but  one  thousand,  and  they  were 
already  jealous  enough  of  me.  Besides,  I  never  cared 
for  money.  All  I  ever  cared  for  was  to  carry  my 
point." 

In  1829  he  determined  to  leave  the  service  of  Mr. 
Gibbons,  with  whom  he  had  been  connected  for  eleven 
years.  He  was  thirty-five  years  old,  and  had  saved 
thirty  thousand  dollars.  He  resolved  to  build  a 


264  SELF-MADE  MEN. 

steamer  of  his  own,  and  command  her  himself,  and 
accordingly  made  known  his  intention  to  his  employer. 
Mr.  Gibbons  at  once  declared  that  he  could  not  carry 
on  the  line  without  his  assistance,  and  told  him  he 
might  make  his  own  terms  if  he  would  stay  with  him. 
Captain  Vanderbilt  had  formed  his  decision  after 
much  thought,  and  being  satisfied  that  he  was  doing 
right,  he  persisted  in  his  determination  to  set  up  for 
himself.  Mr.  Gibbons  then  offered  to  sell  him  the 
line  on  the  spot,  and  to  take  his  pay  as  the  money 
should  be  earned.  It  was  a  splendid  offer,  but  it  was 
firmly  and  gratefully  refused. 

After  leaving  Mr.  Gibbons  he  built  a  small  steamer, 
called  the  "  Caroline,"  which  he  commanded  himself. 
In  a  few  years  he  was  the  owner  of  several  other 
small  steamers  plying  between  New  York  and  the 
neighboring  towns.  He  made  slow  progress  at  first, 
for  he  had  strong  opposition  to  overcome.  The 
steamboat  interest  was  in  the  hands  of  powerful  com- 
panies, backed  by  immense  capital.  They  met  their 
match  in  all  cases,  however,  for  Vanderbilt  inaugu- 
rated so  sharp  a  business  opposition  that  the  best  of 
them  were  forced  to  compromise  with  him.  These 
troubles  were  very  annoying  to  him,  and  cost  him 
nearly  every  dollar  he  was  worth,  but  he  persevered, 
and  at  length  "carried  his  point." 


CORNELIUS  YANDERBILT.  265 

From  that  time  he  made  his  way  gradually  in  his 
business,  until  he  rose  to  the  head  of  the  steamboat 
interest  of  the  United  States. 

He  built  the  famous  steamer  "North  Star,"  and 
made  a  triumphal  cruise  in  her  to  the  Old  World.  He 
then  offered  the  Government  to  carry  the  mails  more 
promptly  and  regularly  than  had  ever  been  done 
before,  and  to  do  this  for  a  term  of  years  without 
asking  one  single  cent  as  subsidy.  He  was  allowed 
to  do  it. 

Some  years  ago  he  tried  to  have  a  bill  passed  con- 
solidating the  Hudson  River  and  Harlem  Railroads, 
and  sufficient  votes  were  promised  to  carry  it.  Un- 
principled legislators,  however,  broke  their  promises, 
and  tried  to  ruin  him;  but  he  found  out  in  time  to 
avert  it,  and,  instead  of  losing,  gained  a  large  sum  of 
money;  while  the  men  who  tried  to  ruin  him,  were 
themselves  ruined. 

During  the  rebellion,  Commodore  Vanderbilt  equip- 
ped his  splendid  steamer,  the  "  Vanderbilt,"  as  a  man- 
of-war,  and  presented  her  to  the  Navy  Department  as 
a  free  gift  to  the  nation. 

He  was  extremely  generous  to  his  friends,  and  gave 
liberally  to  charitable  objects.  He  died  some  few 
years  ago,  and  left  a  family  of  thirteen  children, 
nearly  all  of  whom  are  still  living. 


ROBERT  FULTON. 


'OBERT  FULTON  was  born  in  ;he  township  of 
Little  Britain  (now  called  Fulton),  in  Lan- 
caster County,  Pennsylvania,  in  1765.  He 
was  of  Irish  descent,  and  his  father  was  a  farmer  in 
moderate  circumstances.  He  was  the  eldest  son  and 
third  child  of  a  family  of  five  children. 

In  1766,  Mr.  Fulton,  senior,  disposed  of  his  farm, 
and  removed  to  the  town  of  Lancaster,  where  he  died 
in  1768,  and  there  young  Robert  grew  up  under  the 
care  of  his  mother.  He  learned  to  read  and  write 
quickly,  but  did  not  manifest  much  fondness  for  his 
books  after  mastering  his  elementary  studies.  He 
early  exhibited  an  unusual  talent  for  drawing,  however, 
greatly  preferring  the  employment  of  his  pencil  to  the 
more  serious  duties  of  the  school.  He  displayed  a 
remarkable  talent  for  mechanism,  which  was  greatly 
assisted  by  his  skill  in  drawing,  and  his  visits  to  the 


ROBERT  FULTON.  269 

machine  shops  were  always  welcomed  by  both  the 
apprentices  and  their  employers,  who  recognized  the 
unusual  genius  of  the  boy,  and  predicted  great  things 
for  him  in  the  future. 

The  boyhood  of  Fulton  was  passed  during  the 
stormy  period  of  the  Revolution,  and  in  a  section  so 
close  to  the  theater  of  war  that  he  was  in  the  midst  of 
all  the  excitement  engendered  by  the  conflict.  He 
was  an  ardent  patriot  from  the  first,  and  used  his 
pencil  freely  to  caricature  all  who  showed  the  slightest 
leaning  to  the  cause  of  the  enemy. 

In  1778,  when  he  was  thirteen  years  old,  he  bought 
some  powder  and  several  large  sheets  of  pasteboard, 
and  made  rockets  after  his  own  model,  for  the  purpose 
of  celebrating  the  4th  of  July. 

"  In  the  summer  of  1779,  Robert  Fulton  evinced  an 
extraordinary  fondness  for  inventions.  He  was  a  fre- 
quent visitor  of  Mr.  Messersmith's  and  Mr.  Fenno's 
gunsmith  shops,  almost  daily,  and  endeavored  to 
manufacture  a  small  air-gun." 

About  this  time  he  planned  and  completed  a  small 
working  model  of  a  fishing  boat,  with  paddle-wheels. 

Having  chosen  the  profession  of  an  artist  and 
portrait  painter,  young  Fulton  removed  to  Philadel- 
phia at  the  age  of  seventeen,  and  remained  there, 
pursuing  his  vocation,  until  the  completion  of  his 


270  SELF-MADE  MEN. 

twenty-first  year.  He  formed  there  the  acquaintance 
of  Benjamin  Franklin,  by  whom  he  was  much  noticed. 
His  success  was  rapid,  and  upon  attaining  his  major- 
ity he  was  enabled  to  purchase  and  stock  a  farm  of 
eighty-four  acres  in  Washington  County,  Pennsylvania, 
which  he  gave  to  his  mother  for  a  home  as  long  as 
she  should  live.  Having  thus  insured  her  comfort,  he 
went  to  England  for  the  purpose  of  completing  his 
studies  in  his  profession.  He  took  with  him  letters  to 
Benjamin  West,  then  at  the  height  of  his  fame,  and 
living  in  London.  He  was  cordially  received  by  Mr. 
West,  who  was  also  a  native  of  Pennsylvania,  and  re- 
mained an  inmate  of  his  family  for  several  years. 

Upon  leaving  the  family  of  Mr.  West,  Fulton  com- 
menced a  tour  for  the  purpose  of  examining  the 
treasures  of  art  contained  in  the  residences  of  the 
English  nobility,  and  remained  for  two  years  in 
Devonshire.  There  he  became  acquainted  with  the 
Duke  of  Bridgewater,  and  it  is  said  that  he  was  induced 
by  this  nobleman  to  abandon  the  profession  of  an 
artist,  and  enter  upon  that  of  a  civil  engineer.  Here 
he  also  met  with  Watt,  who  had  just  produced  the 
steam-engine,  which  Fulton  studied  enthusiastically. 
His  own  inventive  genius  was  not  idle,  and  while  liv- 
ing in  Devonshire,  he  produced  an  improved  mill  for 
sawing  marble,  which  won  him  the  thanks  and  medal 


ROBERT  FULTON.  271 

of  the  British  Society  for  the  Promotion  of  the  Arts 
and  Commerce;  a  machine  for  spinning  flax  and  mak- 
ing ropes;  and  an  excavator  for  scooping  out  the 
channels  of  canals  and  aqueducts,  all  of  which  were 
patented.  He  published  a  number  of  communica- 
tions on  the  subject  of  canals  in  one  of  the  leading 
London  journals,  and  a  treatise  upon  the  same  sub- 
ject. Having  obtained  a  patent  in  England  for  canal 
improvements,  he  went  to  France  in  1797,  with  the 
design  of  introducing  them  in  that  country.  He  re- 
mained in  Paris  seven  years,  residing  during  that  time 
with  Mr.  Joel  Barlow,  and  devoting  himself  to  the 
study  of  modern  languages,  and  engineering  and  its 
kindred  sciences. 

His  work  was  continuous  and  severe  in  Paris.  He 
invented  and  painted  the  first  panorama  ever  exhibited 
in  that  city,  which  he  sold  for  the  purpose  of  raising 
money  for  his  experiments  in  steam  navigation;  he 
also  designed  a.  series  of  splendid  colored  illustrations 
for  The  Columbiad,  the  famous  poem  of  his  friend  Mr. 
Barlow.  Besides  these,  he  invented  a  number  of  im- 
provements in  canals,  aqueducts,  inclined  planes, 
boats,  and  guns,  which  yielded  him  considerable 
credit,  but  very  little  profit. 

Fulton  also  invented  a  torpedo,  or  infernal  machine, 
for  the  purpose  of  destroying  vessels  of  war  by 


272  SELF-MADE  MEN. 

approaching  them  under  water  and  breaking  up  their 
hulls  by  the  explosion.  At  one  time,  when  it  was 
thought  that  England  would  purchase  Fulton's  inven- 
tion, it  was  intimated  to  him  that  he  would  be  required 
to  pledge  himself  not  to  dispose  of  it  to  any  other 
power.  He  replied  promptly: 

"  Whatever  may  be  your  award,  I  never  will  consent 
to  let  these  inventions  lie  dormant  should  my  country 
at  any  time  have  need  of  them.  Were  you  to  grant 
me  an  annuity  of  twenty  thousand  pounds,  I  would 
sacrifice  all  to  the  safety  and  independence  of  my 
country." 

In  1806,  Mr.  Fulton  returned  to  New  York,  and  in 
the  same  year  he  married  Miss  Harriet  Livingston,  a 
niece  of  Chancellor  Livingston,  by  whom  he  had  four 
children.  He  offered  his  torpedo  to  the  General 
Government,  but  the  trial  to  which  it  was  subjected 
by  the  Navy  Department  was  unsuccessful  for  him, 
and  the  Government  declined  to  purchase  the  inven- 
tion. 

But  it  was  not  as  the  inventor  of  engines  of  destruc- 
tion that  Robert  Fulton  was  to  achieve  fame.  From 
the  time  that  Fulton  had  designed  the  paddle-wheels 
for  his  fishing-boat,  he  had  never  ceased  to  give  his 
attention  to  the  subject  of  propelling  vessels  by 
machinery,  and  after  his  acquaintance  with  Watt,  he 


ROBERT  FULTON.  273 

was  more  than  ever  convinced  that  the  steam-engine 
could,  under  proper  circumstances,  be  made  to  furnish 
the  motive  power. 

It  was  in  the  face  of  many  failures  that  Fulton 
applied  himself  to  the  task  of  designing  a  successful 
steamboat.  During  his  residence  in  Paris  he  had 
made  the  acquaintance  of  Mr.  Robert  R.  Livingstone, 
then  the  American  minister  in  France,  who  had  pre- 
viously been  connected  with  some  unsuccessful  steam- 
boat experiments  at  home.  Mr.  Livingston  joined 
heartily  with  him  in  his  efforts  to  prove  his  theories 
by  experiments,  and  it  was  finally  agreed  between 
them  to  build  a  large  boat  for  trial  on  the  Seine.  This 
experimental  steamer  was  furnished  with  paddle 
wheels,  and  was  completed  and  launched  early  in  the 
spring  of  1803.  Before  it  could  be  tried,  however, 
the  weight  of  the  machinery  carried  it  to  the  bottom 
of  the  river.  He  at  once  set  to  work  to  raise  the 
machinery,  devoting  twenty-four  hours,  without  rest- 
ing or  eating,  to  the  undertaking,  and  succeeded  in 
doing  so,  but  inflicted  upon  his  constitution  a  strain 
from  which  he  never  entirely  recovered.  The  machin- 
ery was  very  slightly  damaged,  but  it  was  necessary  to 
rebuild  the  boat  entirely.  This  was  accomplished  by 
July  of  the  same  year,  and  the  boat  was  tried  in 
August  with  triumphant  success,  in  the  presence  of 


274  SELF-MADE  MEN. 

the  French  National  Institute  and  a  vast  crowd  of  the 
citizens  of  Paris. 

This  steamer  was  very  defective,  but  still  so  great 
an  improvement  upon  all  that  had  preceded  it,  that 
Messrs.  Fulton  and  Livingston  determined  to  build  one 
on  a  larger  scale  in  the  waters  of  New  York,  the  right 
of  navigating  which  by  steam  vessels  had  been  secured 
by  the  latter  as  far  back  as  1798.  The  law  which 
granted  this  right  had  been  continued  from  time  to 
time  through  Mr.  Livingston's  influence,  and  was 
finally  amended  so  as  to  include  Fulton  within  its  pro- 
visions. Having  resolved  to  return  home,  Fulton  set 
out  as  soon  as  possible,  stopping  in  England  on  his 
return,  to  order  an  engine  for  his  boat  from  Watt  and 
Boulton.  He  gave  an  exact  description  of  the 
engine,  which  was  built  in  strict  accordance  with  his 
plan,  but  declined  to  state  the  use  to  which  he  in- 
tended putting  it. 

Very  soon  after  his  arrival  in  New  York,  he  com- 
menced building  his  first  American  boat,  and  finding 
that  her  cost  would  greatly  exceed  his  estimate,  he 
offered  for  sale  a  third  interest  in  the  monopoly  of  the 
navigation  of  the  waters  of  New  York,  held  by  Living- 
ston and  himself,  in  order  to  raise  money  to  build  the 
boat,  and  thus  lighten  the  burdens  of  himself  and  his 
partner,  but  he  could  find  no  one  willing  to  risk 


ROBERT  FULTON.  275 

money  in  such  a  scheme.  Scientific  men  ana  ama- 
teurs all  agreed  in  pronouncing  Fulton's  scheme  im- 
practicable; but  he  went  on  with  his  work,  his  boat 
attracting  no  less  attention  and  exciting  no  less  ridi- 
cule than  the  ark  had  received  from  the  scoffers  in  the 
days  of  Noah.  The  steam-engine  ordered  from 
Boulton  and  Watt  was  received  in  the  latter  part  of 
1806;  and  in  the  following  spring  the  boat  was  launched 
from  the  ship-yard  of  Charles  Brown,  on  the  East 
River.  Fulton  named  her  the  "  Clermont,"  after  the 
country  seat  of  his  friend  and  partner,  Chancellor 
Livingston.  She  was  one  hundred  and  sixty  tons 
burthen,  one  hundred  and  thirty  feet  long,  eighteen 
feet  wide,  and  seven  feet  deep.  Her  engine  was  made 
with  a  single  cylinder,  two  feet  in  diameter,  and  of 
four  feet  stroke;  and  her  boiler  was  twenty  feet  long, 
seven  feet  deep,  and  eight  feet  broad.  The  diameter 
of  the  paddle-wheels  was  fifteen  feet,  the  boards  four 
feet  long,  and  dipping  two  feet  in  the  water.  The  boat 
was  completed  about  the  last  of  August,  and  she  was 
moved  by  her  machinery  from  the  East  River  into  the 
Hudson,  and  over  to  the  Jersey  shore.  This  trial, 
brief  as  it  was,  satisfied  Fulton  of  its  success,  and  he 
announced  that  in  a  few  days  the  steamer  would  sail 
from  New  York  for  Albany.  A  few  friends,  including 
several  scientific  men  and  mechanics,  were  invited  to 


276  SELF-MADE  MEN. 

take  passage  in  the  boat,  to  witness  her  performance; 
and  they  accepted  the  invitation  with  a  general  con- 
viction that  they  were  to  do  but  little  more  than  wit- 
ness another  failure. 

Monday,  September  10,  1807,  came  at  length,  and  a 
vast  crowd  assembled  along  the  shore  of  the  North 
River  to  witness  the  starting.  Precisely  at  one  o'clock 
— the  hour  for  sailing — the  moorings  were  thrown  off, 
and  the  "  Clermont "  moved  slowly  out  into  the 
stream.  In  a  little  while  she  was  fairly  under  weigh, 
and  making  a  steady  progress  up  the  stream  at  the 
rate  of  five  miles  per  hour.  Fulton  soon  discovered 
that  the  .paddles  were  too  long,  and  took  too  deep  a 
hold  on  the  water,  and  stopped  the  boat  for  the  pur- 
pose of  shortening  them. 

Having  remedied  this  defect,  the  "  Clermont "  con- 
tinued her  voyage  during  the  rest  of  the  day  and  all 
night,  without  stopping,  and  at  one  o'clock  the  next 
day  ran  alongside  the  landing  at  Clermont,  the  seat  of 
Chancellor  Livingston.  She  lay  there  until  nine  the 
next  morning,  when  she  continued  her  voyage  toward 
Albany,  reaching  that  city  at  five  in  the  afternoon, 
having  made  the  entire  distance  between  New  York 
and  Albany  (one  hundred  and  fifty  miles)  in  thirty-two 
hours  of  actual  running  time,  an  average  speed  of 
nearly  five  miles  per  hour.  On  her  return  trip,  she 


ROBERT  FULTON.  277 

reached  New  York  in  thirty  hours  running  time — 
exactly  five  miles  per  hour.  Fulton  states  that  during 
both  trips  he  encountered  a  head  wind.  She  con- 
tinued to  ply  regularly  between  New  York  and  Albany 
until  the  close  of  navigation  for  that  season,  always 
carrying  a  full  complement  of  passengers,  and  more  or 
less  freight.  During  the  winter  she  was  overhauled 
and  enlarged,  and  her  speed  improved.  In  the  spring 
of  1808  she  resumed  her  regular  trips,  and  since  then 
steam  navigation  on  the  Hudson  has  not  ceased  for  a 
single  day,  except  during  the  closing  of  the  river  by 
ice. 

In  1811  and  1812,  Fulton  built  two  steam  ferry- 
boats for  the  North  River,  and  soon  after  added  a  third 
for  the  East  River.  These  boats  were  the  beginning  of 
the  magnificent  steam  ferry  system  which  is  to-day  one 
of  the  chief  wonders  of  New  York. 

Early  in  1814,  the  city  of  New  York  was  seriously 
menaced  with  an  attack  from  the  British  fleet,  and 
Fulton,  at  the  request  of  a  committee  of  citizens,  pre- 
pared plans  for  a  vessel  of  war  to  be  propelled  by 
steam,  capable  of  carrying  a  strong  battery,  with 
furnaces  for  red-hot  shot,  and  which,  he  represented, 
would  move  at  the  rate  of  four  miles  an  hour.  In 
March,  1814,  Congress  authorized  the  building  of  one 
or  more  floating  batteries  after  the  plan  presented  bv 


278  SELF-MADE  MEN. 

Fulton.  Her  keel  was  laid  on  the  20th  of  June,  1814, 
and  on  the  3ist  of  October  of  the  same  year,  she  was 
launched,  amid  great  rejoicings,  from  the  ship-yard  of 
Adam  and  Noah  Brown.  In  May,  1815,  her  engines 
were  put  on  board,  and  on  the  4th  of  July  of  that 
year  she  made  a  trial  trip  to  Sandy  Hook  and  back, 
accomplishing  the  round  trip — a  distance  of  fifty-three 
miles — in  eight  hours  and  twenty  minutes,  under  steam 
alone.  Before  this,  however,  peace  had  been  pro- 
claimed, and  Fulton  had  gone  to  rest  from  his  labors. 
The  ship  was  a  complete  success,  and  was  the  first 
steam  vessel  of  war  ever  built. 

Fulton  followed  up  the  "  Clermont,"  in  1807,  with  a 
larger  boat,  called  the  "  Car  of  Neptune,"  which  was 
placed  on  the  Albany  route  as  soon  as  completed. 
In  1809  Fulton  obtained  his  first  patent  from  the 
United  States;  and  in  1811  he  took  out  a  second 
patent  for  some  improvement  in  his  boats  and  ma- 
chinery. His  patents  were  limited  to  the  simple 
means  of  adapting  paddle  wheels  to  the  axle  of  the 
crank  of  Watt's  engine. 

He  died  on  the  24th  of  February,  1815,  at  the  age 
of  fifty  years.  He  left  a  widow  and  four  children. 
By  the  terms  of  his  will  he  bequeathed  to  his  wife  an 
income  of  nine  thousand  dollars  a  year,  and  five  hun- 
dred dollars  to  each  of  his  children  until  they  were 


ROBERT  FULTON.  279 

twelve  years  old,  after  which  they  were  each  to  receive 
one  thousand  dollars  a  year  until  they  should  attain 
the  age  of  twenty-one  years. 

In  person,  Fulton  was  tall  and  handsome.  His 
manner  was  polished,  cordial,  and  winning.  He  made 
friends  rapidly,  and  never  failed  in  his  efforts  to  enlist 
capital  and  influence  in  support  of  his  schemes.  He 
was  manly,  fearless,  and  independent  in  character,  and 
joined  to  a  perfect  integrity  a  patience  and  indomi- 
table resolution  which  enabled  him  to  bear  up  under 
every  disappointment,  and  which  won  him  in  the  end 
a  glorious  success. 


GEN.  JAS.  A.  GARFIELD. 


"T  has  been  observed  by  an  eminent  philosopher 
that  some  men  make  themselves  great,  and  some 
men  have  greatness  thrust  upon  them.  While 

the  presidential  nomination  fell  upon  General  Garfield 
with  all  the  suddenness  of  the  lighning  bolt  to  which 
it  is  so  often  likened,  it  is  the  only  stroke  of  pure 
good  fortune  that  ever  fell  to  him.  His  success,  his 
position  before  the  country,  were  the  results  of  his 
untiring  industry  and  his  sturdy  sense  of  duty.  He 
never  had  the  advantages  of  wealth  nor  of  family 
connections,  and  he  kept  himself  in  Congress  for 
seventeen  years  by  a  popularity  based  on  his  character 
and  his  legitimate  work  as  a  legislator,  and  not  by 
artifice  or  trimming. 

James  Abram  Garfield  was  born  in  Orange, 
Cuyahoga  County,  Ohio,  fifteen  miles  from  Cleveland, 
Nov.  10,  1831.  His  father  was  a  farmer  in  moderate 


GEN.  JAS.  A.  GARFIELD.  283 

circumstances,  and  died  when  James  was   only  two 
years  old.     There  were  three  other  children. 

All  the  children  had  to  work  hard,  as  the  widow  had 
but  scanty  means  of  support  for  her  family.  James 
worked  on  the  farm  in  summer  and  in  a  carpenter's 
shop  in  the  winter.  Finding  that  he  could  make  better 
wages  working  on  the  Ohio  canal,  he  secured  employ- 
ment first  as  driver  on  the  towpath  and  afterward  as 
helmsman.  He  intended  at  one  time  to  ship  as  a  sea- 
man on  a  lake  vessel,  but  his  plans  were  changed  by 
a  fit  of  sickness,  and  his  intentions  were  turned  in 
another  direction.  He  had  from  early  boyhood  felt  a 
very  keen  desire  for  an  education,  and  had  been 
i  laboriously  saving  money  to  enable  him  to  go  to 
school.  After  recovering  from  the  fit  of  sickness  just 
referred  to,  he  became  a  pupil  of  the  Geanga  academy, 
near  his  home.  His  mother  was  able  to  let  him  have 
a  little  money,  and  this  she  supplemented  with  some 
provisions  and  cooking  utensils,  and  he  boarded  him- 
self at  school.  After  this  start  that  his  mother  gave 
him,  he  never  called  on  her  for  assistance.  He  spent 
all  his  odd  hours  at  the  carpenter's  bench,  taught 
school  winters,  and  thus  managed  to  support  himself, 
attend  the  regular  terms  of  the  academy,  and  save 
some  money  for  a  college  education.  Having  a  very 
retentive  memory,  he  learned  with  comparative  ease. 


284  SELF-MADE   MEN. 

A  reminiscence  of  his  earlier  manhood  is  found  in 
the  recital  given  by  one  Capt.  Stiles,  the  present  sheriff 
of  Ashtabula  County,  Ohio.  In  1850,  Capt.  Stiles 
relates,  Garfield  taught  the  district  school  of  Stiles' 
district,  and  "boarded  around."  Like  many  other 
school-masters  of  pioneer  days,  Garfield's  wardrobe 
was  scanty,  consisting  of  but  one  suit  of  blue  jean. 
One  day  the  schoolmaster  was  so  unfortunate  as  to 

• 

rend  his  pantaloons  across  the  knee  in  an  unseemly 
degree.  He  pinned  up  the  rend  as  best  he  could, 
and  went  to  the  homestead  of  the  Stiles'  where  he 
was  then  boarding.  Good  Mrs.  Stiles  cheeringly 
said  to  the  unfortunate  pedagogue,  "  Oh,  well,  James, 
never  mind  ;  you  go  to  bed  early  and  I  will  put  a 
nice  patch  under  that  tear  and  darn  it  up  all  nice  so 
that  it  will  last  all  winter,  and  when  you  get  to  be 
United  States  Senator,  nobody  will  ask  you  what 
kind  of  clothes  you  wore  when  you  were  keeping 
school."  When  Gen.  Garfield  was  elected  Senator 
from  the  State  of  Ohio,  Mrs.  Stiles,  who  is  still  a 
hale  old  lady,  sent  her  congratulations  to  him  and 
reminded  him  of  the  torn  pantaloons ;  and  for  her 
kindly  congratulations  she  received  a  most  touching 
reply  from  the  newly  elected  Senator,  assuring  her 
that  the  incident  was  fresh  in  his  memory. 

At  the  age  of  23  years  he  had  education  enough  to 


GEN.  JAS.  A.  GARFIELD.  285 

enter  the  junior  class  at  college,  and  money  enough  to 
support  him  at  college  for  a  year.  He  borrowed 
enough  money  to  support  him  another  year,  and  in 
1854  he  entered  the  junior  class  of  Williams  College. 
In  1856  he  graduated  with  honors. 

When  Garfield  returned  to  Ohio,  he  obtained  the 
Professorship  of  Latin  and  Greek  in  the  little  college 
at  Hiram,  Portage  County,  Ohio.  He  devoted  him- 
self assiduously  not  only  to  the  instruction  of  his 
classes,  but  to  the  better  establishment  of  the  college, 
and  he  had  not  been  professor  two  years  when  he  was 
made  president.  The  college  was  under  the  control 
of  the  Campbellite  denomination,  a  body  with  which 
he  had  connected  himself  before  going  to  college.  As 
president  of  the  college  he  pursued  his  own  studies 
while  teaching  others,  constantly  adding  to  his  stock 
of  information.  The  Campbellites  have  no  ordained 
ministry,  and  on  Sundays  President  Garfield  often 
addressed  the  congregations  of  his  denomination,  but 
he  never  contemplated  devoting  himself  to  the  minis- 
try as  a  regular  thing.  His  preaching  was  merely 
incidental. 

While  a  professor  of  Greek  and  Latin,  Gen.  Gar- 
field  was  very  happily  married  to  Miss  Lucretia 
Rudolph,  daughter  of  a  neighboring  farmer.  As  a. 
girl,  she  was  quiet,  thoughtful,  refined.  As  a  woman, 


286  SELF-MADE    MEN. 

her  qualities  of  mind,  as  well  as  of  heart,  have 
contributed  materially  to  her  husband's  successful 
career.  Several  children  were  born  to  Gen.  and 
Mrs.  Garfield,  two  of  whom  have  died.  Harry  and 
James,  the  two  oldest  children,  are  now  strong 
young  men.  Molly,  the  only  daughter,  is  a  young 
lady.  The  youngest  children  are  two  boys,  Irwin 
and  Abram. 

The  General's  political  career  began  in  1859.  He 
was  elected  at  that  time  to  the  State  Senate,  but  did 
not  resign  his  college  presidency,  having  no  idea  then 
of  a  public  career.  But  the  war  came  to  alter  all  his 
plans.  During  the  winter  of  1861  he  was  active  in 
the  passage  of  measures  for  arming  the  State  militia, 
and  his  eloquence  and  energy  made  him  a  conspicu- 
ous leader  of  the  Union  party.  Early  in  the  summer 
of  18G1,  he  was  elected  Colonel  of  an  infantry  regi- 
ment (the  42d)  raised  in  Northern  Ohio,  many  of  the 
soldiers  in  which  had  been  students  at  Hiram.  He 
took  the  field  in  Eastern  Kentucky,  was  soon  put 
in  command  of  a  brigade,  and  by  making  one  of  the 
hardest  marches  ever  made  by  recruits,  surprised  and 
routed  the  rebel  forces,  under  Humphrey  Marshal, 
at  Piketon. 

From  Eastern  Kentucky  Gen.  Garfield  was  trans- 
ferred to  Louisville,  and  from  that  place  hastened  to 


GEN.  JAS.  A.  GARFIELD.  287 

join  the  army  of  Gen.  Buell,  which  he  reached  with 
his  brigade  in  time  to  participate  in  the  second  day's 
fighting  at  Pittsburg  Landing.  He  took  part  in  the 
siege  of  Corinth,  and  in  the  operations  along  the 
Memphis  and  Charleston  railroad.  In  January,  1863, 
he  was  appointed  chief  of  staff  of  the  army  of  the 
Cumberland,  and  bore  a  prominent  share  in  all  the 
campaigns  in  middle  Tennessee  in  the  spring  and 
summer  of  that  year.  His  last  conspicuous  military 
service  was  at  the  battle  of  Chickamauga.  For  his 
conduct  in  that  battle  he  was  promoted  to  a  Major- 
Generalship. 

General  Garfield  was  nominated  for  Congress  in 
1862,  while  he  was  in  the  field,  without  asking  his  con- 
sent. When  he  heard  of  the  nomination,  Garfield  re- 
flected that  it  would  be  fifteen  months  before  the 
Congress  would  meet  to  which  he  would  be  elected, 
and  believing,  as  did  everyone  else,  that  the  war  could 
not  possibly  last  a  year  longer,  concluded  to  accept. 

He  remained  in  the  field  till  his  term  of  office 
began,  and,  the  war  being  then  in  progress,  expressed 
considerable  regret  that  he  had  accepted  the  election. 

On  entering  Congress,  in  December,  1863,  General 
Garfield  was  placed  upon  the  committee  on  military 
affairs,  with  Schenck  and  Farnsworth,  who  were  also 
fresh  from  the  field.  He  took  an  active  part  in  the 


288  SELF-MADE   MEN. 

debates  of  the  House,  and  won  a  recognition  which 
tew  new  members  succeeded  in  gaining.  He  was  not 
popular  among  his  fellow-members  during  his  first 
term.  They  thought  him  something  of  a  pedant 
because  he  sometimes  showed  his  scholarship  in  his 
speeches,  and  they  were  jealous  of  his  prominence. 
His  solid  attainments  and  amiable  social  qualities 
enabled  him  to  overcome  this  prejudice  during  his 
second  term,  and  he  became  on  terms  of  close  friend- 
ship with  the  best  men  in  both  Houses.  His  commit- 
tee service  during  his  second  term  was  on  the  ways 
and  means,  which  was  quite  to  his  taste,  for  it  gave 
him  an  opportunity  to  prosecute  the  studies  in  finance 
and  political  economy  which  he  had  always  felt  a 
fondness  for.  He  was  a  hard  worker  and  a  great 
reader  in  those  days,  going  home  with  his  arms  full  of 
books  from  the  Congressional  library,  and  sitting  up 
late  nights  to  read  them.  It  was  then  that  he  laid  the 
foundations  of  the  convictions  on  the  subject  of 
national  finance  which  he  uniformly  held  to  firmly 
amid  all  the  storms  of  political  agitation.  He  was  re- 
nominated  in  1864,  without  opposition  ;  but  in  18G6 
Mr.  Hutchins,  whom  he  had  supplanted,  made  an 
effort  to  defeat  him.  Hutchins  canvassed  the  district 
thoroughly,  but  the  convention  nominated  Garfield 
by  acclamation.  Thereafter  he  had  no  opposition  in 


GEN.   JAS.    A.    GARFIELD.  289 

his  own  party.  In  1872  the  Liberals  and  Democrats 
united  to  beat  him,  but  his  majority  was  larger  than 
ever.  In  1874  the  Greenbackers  and  Democrats 
combined  and  put  up  a  popular  soldier  against  him, 
but  they  made  no  impression  on  the  result. 

When  James  G.  Elaine  went  to  the  Senate,  in  1877, 
the  mantle  of  Republican  leadership  in  the  House 
was  by  common  consent  placed  upon  Garfield,  and 
he  wore  it  with  honor. 

In  January,  1880,  General  Garfield  was  elected  to 
the  Senate  to  the  seat  which  was  vacated  by  Allen  G. 
Thurman  on  the  4th  of  March,  1881.  He  received 
the  unanimous  vote  of  the  Republican  caucus,  an 
honor  never  given  to  any  other  man  of  any  party  in 
the  State  of  Ohio. 

General  Garfield  acquired  a  large  influence  in 
Congress,  and  commanded  the  respect  of  both  parties, 
as  few  other  men  did.  This  respect  was  based  on  an 
open,  cordial  disposition,  and  the  universally  acknowl- 
edged sincerity  and  ability  of  the  man.  He  was 
notable  for  his  studious  and  methodical  habits.  He 
was  found  on  one  occasion  in  the  Congressional 
library,  poring  over  a  table  full  of  editions  of  Horace, 
and  critical  works  regarding  that  poet.  He  explained 
his  occupation  by  saying  that  he  found  he  was  over- 
worked, and  he  was  resting  himself  by  applying  his 


290  SELF-MADE    MEN. 

i 

40 

mind  to  subjects  having  no  connection  with  his  Con- 
gressional duties. 

What  a  grand  scene  was  that  in  the  Senate 
chamber,  in  the  great  rotunda,  and  on  the  porch  of 
the  Capitol,  when  General  Gasfield  took  the  oath  of 
office  and  delivered  his  inaugural  address  !  He  was 
calm  and  firm  in  all  his  movements  before  the 
assembled  thousands,  and  his  voice  was  clear  and 
strong  as  he  read  his  recommendations  concerning1  a 

O  o 

better  civil  service.  How  little  did  he  know  that  he 
must  give  his  life  for  those  principles,  before  the 
people  could  be  made  to  realize  the  situation. 

Among  the  thousands  of  persistent  hunters  for 
office  who  followed  General  Garfield  and  intruded 
themselves  upon  his  notice,  was  Charles  J.  Guiteau. 
He  was  born  in  Freeport,  Illinois,  and  was  by  pro- 
fession a  lawyer.  He  was  not  long  in  the  practice  of 
law,  owing  to  the  fact  that  in  Chicago  and  New 
York,  the  only  places  where  he  opened  an  office  he 
was  unable  to  obtain  business.  He  seems  to  have 
been  from  earliest  boyhood  an  erratic,  self-willed, 
cruel  character.  He  dogged  the  President's  footsteps 
seeking  office,  and  mortified  at  his  failure  he  deter- 
mined to  have  revenge.  Various  schemes  suggested 
themselves  to  him,  according  to  his  own  confession, 
which  would  bring  disgrace  and  failure  upon  the 
administration  and  shame  upon  the  Piesident,  but 
none  would  or  could  satisfy  him  but  the  murder  of 
General  Garfield.  Arming  himself  with  a  heavy 
revolver,  he  determined  to  obtain  his  revenge  by 


GEN.   JAS.    A.    GARFIELD.  291 

shooting  the  President.  On  Friday,  the  1st  day  of 
July,  1881,  Guiteau  saw  by  the  papers  that  the  Presi- 
dent intended  to  take  the  train  for  New  York  the 
next  morning.  On  the  morning  of  July  2d  he  loaded 
his  revolver  and  quietly  waited  at  the  railway  station 
for  his  victim.  The  President  passed  him  and  he 
fired  the  first  shot.  He  was  so  close  to  his  victim 
that  he  saw  that  his  aim  had  not  been  true,  and  as 
the  startled  President  leaped  one  side  the  assassin 
took  a  surer  aim  and  fired  the  second  time  with 
deadly  effect.  The  awful  calamity  was  telegraphed 
to  all  parts  of  the  world,  striking  horror  to  all  hearts. 
After  months  of  heroic,  patient  suffering,  the  Presi- 
dent expired  peacefully  and  calmly. 

Everywhere  there  was  weeping,  and  the  messages 
of  condolence  which  came  to  Mrs.  Garfield  were  as 
sincere  as  they  were  numerous.  One  of  the  first 
received  was  from  the  Queen  of  England,  and  read 
as  follows  : — • 

BALMORAL. 

"Words  cannot  express  the  deep  sympathy  I  feel 
with  you.  May  God  support  and  comfort  you,  as 
He  alone  can. 

"  Signed  THE  QUEEN." 

Towns,  cities,  and  states,  republics  and  kingdoms, 
including  nearly  every  nation  on  earth,  sent  their 
messages  of  sympathy.  The  exhibition  of  a  grief  so 
world-wide  was  a  sublime  event,  and  something  new 
in  the  world's  history. 


ELIAS  HOWE. 


A 


HOWE  was  born  in  the  town  of  Spencer, 
Massachusetts,  in  1819.  He  was  one  of  eight 
children.  His  father  was  a  farmer  and  miller, 
and,  as  was  the  custom  at  that  time  in  the  country 
towns  of  New  England,  carried  on  in  his  family  some 
of  those  minor  branches  of  industry  suited  to  the 
capacity  of  children,  with  which  New  England  abounds. 
When  Elias  was  six  years  old,  he  was  set,  with  his 
brothers  and  sisters,  to  sticking  wire  teeth  through  the 
leather  straps  used  for  making  cotton  cards.  When 
he  became  old  enough,  he  assisted  his  father  in  his 
saw-mill  and  grist-mill,  and  during  the  winter  months 
picked  up  a  meager  education  at  the  district  schooU 
He  was  not  fitted  for  hard  work,  however,  as  he  was 
frail  in  constitution  and  incapable  of  bearing  much 
fatigue.  Moreover,  he  inherited  a  species  of  lameness 
which  proved  a  great  obstacle  to  any  undertaking  OB 


ELIAS  HOWE.  203 

his  part,  and  gave  him  no  little  trouble  all  through  life. 
At  the  age  of  eleven  he  went  to  live  out  on  the  farm 
of  a  neighbor,  but  the  labor  proving  too  severe  for 
him,  he  returned  home  and  resumed  his  place  in  his 
father's  mills,  where  he  remained  until  he  was  sixteen 
years  old. 

When  at  this  age,  he  conceived  an  ardent  desire  to 
go  to  Lowell  to  seek  his  fortune.  Obtaining  his  father's 
consent,  he  went  there,  and  found  employment  as  a 
learner  in  one  of  the  large  cotton  mills  of  the  city. 
He  remained  there  two  years,  when  the  great  financial 
disaster  of  1837  threw  him  out  of  employment  and 
compelled  him  to  look  for  work  elsewhere.  He  obtained 
a  place  at  Cambridge,  in  a  machine-shop,  and  was  put 
to  work  upon  the  new  hemp-carding  machinery  of 
Professor  Treadwell. 

Howe  remained  in  Cambridge  only  a  few  months, 
however,  and  was  then  given  a  place  in  the  machine- 
shop  of  Ari  Davis,  of  Boston. 

At  the  age  of  twenty-one  he  married.  This  was  a 
rash  step  for  him,  as  his  health  was  very  delicate,  and 
his  earnings  were  but  nine  dollars  per  week.  Three 
children  were  born  to  him  in  quick  succession,  and  he 
found  it  no  easy  task  to  provide  food,  shelter  and 
clothing  for  his  little  family.  The  light-heartedness 
for  which  he  had  formerly  been  noted  entirely  deserted 


SELF-MADE  MEN. 

him,  and  he  became  sad  and  melancholy.  His  health 
did  not  improve,  and  it  was  with  difficulty  that  he 
could  perform  his  daily  task.  His  strength  was  so 
slight  that  he  would  frequently  return  home  from  his 
day's  work  too  much  exhausted  to  eat.  He  could  only 
go  to  bed,  and  in  his  agony  he  wished  "  to  lie  in  bed 
forever  and  ever."  Still  he  worked  faithfully  and  con- 
scientiously, for  his  wife  and  children  were  very  dear 
to  him;  but  he  did  so  with  a  hopelessness  which  only 
those  who  have  tasted  the  depths  of  poverty  can 
understand. 

About  this  time  he  heard  it  said  that  the  great 
necessity  of  the  age  was  a  machine  for  doing  sewing, 
and  it  was  conceded  by  all  who  thought  of  the  matter 
at  all,  that  the  man  who  could  invent  such  a  machine 
would  make  a  fortune.  Howe's  poverty  inclined  him 
to  listen  to  these  remarks  with  great  interest.  He  set 
to  work  to  achieve  the  task,  and,  as  he  knew  well  the 
dangers  which  surround  an  inventor,  kept  his  own 
counsel.  He  watched  his  wife  as  she  sewed,  and  his 
first  effort  was  to  devise  a  machine  which  should  do 
what  she  was  doing.  He  made  a  needle  pointed  at 
both  ends,  with  the  eye  in  the  middle,  that  should 
work  up  and  down  through  the  cloth,  and  carry  the 
thread  through  at  each  thrust;  but  his  elaboration  of 
this  conception  would  not  work  satisfactorily.  It  was 


ELIAS  HOWE.  295 

not  until  1844,  over  a  year  after  he  began  the  attempt 
to  invent  the  machine,  that  he  conceived  the  idea  of 
using  two  threads,  and  forming  a  stitch  by  the  aid  of 
a  shuttle  and  a  curved  needle  with  the  eye  near  the 
point  This  was  the  triumph  of  his  skill.  Satisfied 
that  he  had  at  length  solved  the  problem,  he  con- 
structed a  rough  model  of  his  machine  of  wood  and 
wire,  in  October,  1844,  and  operated  it  to  his  perfect 
satisfaction. 

At  this  time,  he  had  abandoned  his  work  as  a 
journeyman  mechanic,  and  had  removed  to  his  father's 
house.  His  father  had  established  in  Cambridge  a 
machine-shop  for  the  cutting  of  strips  of  palm-leaf 
used  in  the  manufacture  of  hats.  Elias  and  his  family 
lived  under  his  father's  roof,  and  in  the  garret  of  the 
house  the  half-sick  inventor  put  up  a  lathe,  where  he 
did  a  little  work  on  his  own  account,  and  labored  on 
his  sewing-machine.  He  was  miserably  poor,  and 
could  scarcely  earn  enough  to  provide  food  for  his 
family;  and,  to  make  matters  worse,  his  father,  who 
was  disposed  to  help  him,  lost  his  shop  and  its  con- 
tents by  fire.  Poor  Elias  was  in  a  most  deplorable 
condition.  He  had  his  model  in  his  head,  and  was 
fully  satisfied  of  its  excellence,  but  he  had  not  the 
money  to  buy  the  materials  needed  in  making  a  per- 
fect machine,  which  would  have  to  be  constructed  of 


296  SELF-MADE  MEN. 

steel  and  iron,  and  without  which  he  could  not  hope 
to  convince  others  of  its  value.  His  great  invention 
was  useless  to  him  without  the  five  hundred  dollars 
which  he  needed  in  the  construction  of  a  working 
model. 

In  this  dilemma,  he  applied  to  a  friend,  Mr.  George 
Fisher,  a  coal  and  wood  merchant  of  Cambridge,  who 
was  a  man  of  some  means.  He  explained  his  inven- 
tion to  him,  and  succeeded  in  forming  a  partnership 
with  him.  Fisher  agreed  to  take  Howe  and  his  family 
to  board  with  him  while  the  latter  was  making  the 
machine,  to  allow  his  garret  to  be  used  as  a  workshop, 
and  to  advance  the  five  hundred  dollars  necessary  for 
the  purchase  of  tools  and  the  construction  of  a  model. 
In  return  for  this  he  was  to  receive  one-half  of  the 
patent,  if  Howe  succeeded  in  patenting  his  machine. 
About  the  first  of  December,  1844,  Howe  and  his 
family  accordingly  moved  into  Fisher's  house,  and  the 
little  workshop  was  set  up  in  the  garret.  He  worked 
all  day,  and  sometimes  nearly  all  night,  and  in  April, 
1845,  had  his  machine  so  far  advanced  that  he  sewed 
a  seam  with  it.  By  the  middle  of  May  the  machine 
was  completed,  and  in  July  he  sewed  with  it  the  seams 
of  two  woolen  suits,  one  for  himself  and  the  other  for 
Mr.  Fisher.  The  sewing  was  so  well  done  that  it  out- 
lasted the  cloth. 


ELIAS  HOWE.  297 

Having  patented  his  machine,  Howe  endeavored  to 
bring  it  into  use.  He  first  offered  it  to  the  tailors  of 
Boston;  but  they,  while  admitting  its  usefulness,  told 
him  it  would  never  be  adopted  by  their  trade,  as  it 
would  ruin  them.  Other  efforts  were  equally  unsuc- 
cessful. Every  one  admitted  and  praised  the  ingenuity 
of  the  machine,  but  no  one  would  invest  a  dollar  in 
it.  Fisher  became  disgusted,  and  withdrew  from  his 
partnership,  and  Howe  and  his  family  moved  back 
to  his  father's  house.  Thoroughly  disheartened,  he 
abandoned  his  machine.  He  then  obtained  a  place  as 
engineer  on  a  railroad,  and  drove  a  locomotive  until 
his  health  entirely  broke  down. 

With  the  loss  of  his  health  his  hopes  revived,  and 
he  determined  to  seek  in  England  the  victory  which 
he  had  failed  to  win  here.  Unable  to  go  himself,  he 
sent  his  machine  by  his  brother  Amasa,  in  October, 
1846.  There  he  found  Mr.  William  Thomas,  of 
Cheapside,  London,  and  explained  to  him  his  brother's 
invention.  Mr.  Thomas  offered  the  sum  of  twelve 
hundred  and  fifty  dollars  for  the  machine  which 
Amasa  Howe  had  brought  with  him,  and  agreed  to 
pay  Elias  fifteen  dollars  per  week  if  he  would  enter 
his  service,  and  adapt  the  machine  to  his  business  of 
umbrella  and  corset  making.  Elias  accepted  the  offer, 

and,  upon  his  brother's  return  to  the  United  States, 
16 


298  SELF-MADE  MEN. 

i 

sailed  for  England.     He   remained  in   Mr.  Thomas's 

employ  for  about  eight  months,  and  at  the  end  of  that 
time  left  him,  having  found  him  hard,  exacting,  and 
unreasonable. 

Meanwhile  his  sick  wife  and  three  children  had 
joined  him  in  London,  and  he  had  found  it  hard  to 
provide  for  them  on  the  wages  given  him  by  Mr. 
Thomas;  but  after  being  thrown  out  of  employment 
his  condition  was  desperate  indeed.  He  was  in  a 
strange  country,  without  friends  or  money,  and  often 
he  and  his  little  family  went  whole  days  without  food. 
Their  sufferings  were  very  great,  but  at  length  Howe 
was  able  (probably  by  assistance  from  home)  to  send 
his  family  back  to  his  father's  house.  He  himself  re- 
mained in  London,  still  hoping  to  bring  his  machine 
into  use.  It  was  in  vain,  however,  and  so,  collecting 
what  few  household  goods  he  had  acquired  in  Eng- 
land, he  shipped  them  to  America,  and  followed  them 
thither  himself  in  another  vessel,  pawning  his  model 
and  patent  papers  to  pay  his  passage.  When  he 
landed  in  New  York  he  had  half  a  crown  in  his  pocket, 
and  there  came  to  him  on  the  same  day  a  letter  telling 
him  that  his  wife  was  dying  with  consumption  in 
Cambridge.  He  was  compelled  to  wait  several  days, 
as  he  was  too  feeble  to  walk,  until  he  could  obtain  the 
money  for  his  fare  to  Cambridge,  but  at  length  sue- 


ELIAS  HOWE.  299 

ceeded  in  reaching  that  place  jn^t  in  time  to  see  his 
wife  die.  In  the  midst  of  his  grief  he  received  the 
announcement  that  the  vessel  containing  the  few 
household  goods  which  he  had  shipped  from  England 
had  been  lost  at  sea.  It  seemed  to  him  that  Fate  was 
bent  upon  destroying  him,  so  rapid  and  stunning  were 
the  blows  she  dealt  him. 

Soon  after  his  return  home,  however,  he  obtained 
profitable  employment,  and,  better  still,  discovered 
that  his  machine  had  become  famous  during  his  ab- 
sence. Fac-similes  of  it  had  been  constructed  by  un- 
scrupulous mechanics,  who  paid  no  attention  to  the 
patents  of  the  inventor,  and  these  copies  had  been  ex- 
hibited in  many  places  as  "  wonders,"  and  had  even 
been  adopted  in  many  important  branches  of  manu- 
facture. Howe  at  once  set  to  work  to  defend  his 
rights.  He  found  friends  to  aid  him,  and  in  August, 
1850,  began  those  famous  suits  which  continued  for 
four  years,  and  were  at  length  decided  in  his  favor. 

In  1850,  Howe  removed  to  New  York,  and  began 
in  a  small  way  to  manufacture  machines  to  order.  He 
was  in  partnership  with  a  Mr.  Bliss,  but  for  several 
years  the  business  was  so  unimportant  that  upon  the 
death  of  his  partner,  in  1855,  he  was  enabled  to  buy 
out  that  gentleman's  interest,  and  thus  become  the  sole 
proprietor  of  his  patent.  Soon  after  this  his  business 


300  SELF-MADE  MEN. 

began  to  increase,  and  continued  until  his  own  proper 
profits  and  the  royalty  which  the  courts  compelled 
other  manufacturers  to  pay  him  for  the  use  of  his  in- 
vention grew  from  $300  to  $200,000  per  annum.  In 
1867,  when  the  extension  of  his  patent  expired,  it  is 
stated  that  he  had  earned  a  total  of  two  millions  of 
dollars  by  it.  It  cost  him  large  sums  to  defend  his 
rights,  however,  and  he  was  very  far  from  being  as 
wealthy  as  was  commonly  supposed,  although  a  very 
rich  man. 

In  the  Paris  Exposition  of  1867,  he  exhibited  his 
machines,  and  received  the  gold  medal  of  the  Exposi- 
tion, and  the  Cross  of  the  Legion  of  Honor  in 
addition,  as  a  compliment  to  him  as  a  manufacturer 
and  inventor. 

He  contributed  money  liberally  to  the  aid  of  the 
Union  in  the  late  war,  and  enlisted  as  a  private  soldier 
in  the  Seventeenth  Regiment  of  Connecticut  Volun- 
teers. He  died  at  Brooklyn,  Long  Island,  on  the  3d 
of  October,  1867. 


^     --'"in    sg.       ;i 


HIRAM  POWERS. 


HIRAM  POWERS. 


l^IRAM  POWERS  was  born  in  Woodstock,  Ver- 
mont, on  the  29th  of  July,  1805.  He  was  the 
eighth  in  a  family  of  nine  children,  and  was 
the  son  of  a  farmer  who  found  it  hard  to  provide  his 
little  household  with  the  necessaries  of  life.  He 
grew  up  as  most  New  England  boys  do,  sound  and 
vigorous  in  health,  passing  the  winters  in  attendance 
upon  the  district  schools,  and  the  summers  in  working 
on  the  farm.  "  The  only  distinctive  trait  exhibited 
by  the  child  was  mechanical  ingenuity;  he  excelled 
in  caricature,  was  an  adept  in  constructiveness,  having 
made  countless  wagons,  windmills,  and  weapons  for 
his  comrades,  attaining  the  height  of  juvenile  reputa- 
tion as  the  inventor  of  what  he  called  a  '  patent  fuse.' 

His  father  was  induced  to  become  security  for  one 
of  his  friends,  and,  as  frequently  happens,  lost  all  he 
had  in  consequence.  Following  close  upon  this  dis- 


304  SELF-MADE  MEN. 

aster  came  a  dreadful  famine  in  the  State,  caused  by 
an  almost  total  failure  of  the  crops. 

One  of  the  sons  had  managed  to  secure  an  educa- 
tion at  Dartmouth  College,  and  had  removed  to  Cin- 
cinnati, where  he  was  at  this  time  editing  a  newspaper. 
Thither  his  father,  discouraged  by  the  famine,  deter- 
mined to  follow  him.  Accordingly,  placing  his  house- 
hold goods  and  his  family  in  three  wagons,  and  being 
joined  by  another  family,  he  set  out  on  the  long 
journey  to  the  West.  This  was  in  1819,  when  young 
Hiram  was  fourteen  years  old.  In  due  time  they 
reached  the  Ohio  River,  down  which  stream  they 
floated  on  a  flatboat  until  they  came  to  Cincinnati, 
then  a  city  of  fourteen  thousand  inhabitants. 

Through  the  assistance  of  his  eldest  son,  the  editor, 
Mr.  Powers  was  enabled  to  secure  a  farm  not  far  from 
Cincinnati,  and  removing  his  family  to  it,  began  the 
task  of  clearing  and  cultivating  it.  Unfortunately  for 
the  new-comers,  the  farm  was  located  on  the  edge  of 
a  pestilential  marsh,  the  poisonous  exhalations  of 
which  soon  brought  the  whole  family  down  with  the 
ague.  Mr.  Powers  the  elder  died  from  this  disease, 
and  Hiram  was  ill  and  disabled  from  it  for  a  whole 
year.  The  family  was  broken  up  and  scattered,  and 
our  hero,  incapable  of  performing  hard  work  so  soon 
*fter  his  sicVpes*.  obtained  a  place  in  a  produce  store 


HIRAM  POWERS.  305 

in  Cincinnati,  his  duty  being  to  watch  the  principal 
road  by  which  the  farmers'  wagons,  laden  with  grain 
and  corn  whisky,  came  into  the  city,  and  to  inform 
the  men  in  charge  of  them  that  they  could  obtain  bet- 
ter prices  for  their  produce  from  his  employers  than 
from  any  other  merchant  in  the  city.  It  was  also  a 
part  of  his  duty  to  help  to  roll  the  barrels  from  the 
wagons  to  the  store.  He  made  a  very  good  "  drum- 
mer," and  gave  satisfaction  to  his  employers,  but  as 
the  concern  soon  broke  up,  he  was  again  without  em- 
ployment. 

His  brother,  the  editor,  now  came  to  his  assistance, 
and  made  a  bargain  with  the  landlord  of  a  hotel  in 
the  city  to  establish  a  reading-room  at  his  hotel.  The 
landlord  was  to  provide  the  room  and  obtain  a  few 
paying  subscribers  ;  the  editor  was  to  stock  it  with  his 
exchange  newspapers,  and  Hiram  was  to  be  put  in 
charge  of  it  and  receive  what  could  be  made  by  it. 
The  reading-room  was  established,  but  as  the  landlord 
failed  to  comply  with  his  agreement,  Powers  was  forced 
to  abandon  the  undertaking. 

About  that  time,  a  clock-maker  and  organ-builder 
employed  him  to  collect  bad  debts  in  the  country.  He 
succeeded  so  well  that  his  employer  offered  to  give 
him  a  place  in  the  factory,  saying  there  would  always 
be  plenty  of  rough  work  at  which  an  inexperienced 


306  SELF-MADE  MEN. 

hand  could  employ  himself.  His  first  task  was  to  thin 
iown  with  a  file  some  brass  plates  which  were  to  be 
used  as  parts  of  the  stops  of  an  organ.  Powers  was 
expected  to  do  merely  the  rough  work,  after  which  the 
plates  were  to  pass  into  the  hands  of  the  regular 
finisher.  His  employer,  knowing  that  the  task  was  one 
which  would  require  time,  told  him  he  would  look  in 
in  a  few  days,  and  see  how  he  had  succeeded.  The 
young  man's  mechanical  talent,  on  which  he  had  prided 
himself  when  a  boy  in  Vermont,  now  did  him  good 
service,  and  he  applied  himself  to  his  task  with  skill 
and  determination.  When  his  employer  asked  for  the 
plates,  he  was  astonished  to  find  that  Powers  had  not 
only  done  the  rough  work,  but  had  finished  them 
much  better  than  the  regular  finisher  had  ever  done, 
and  this  merely  by  his  greater  nicety  of  eye  and  his 
undaunted  energy.  He  had  blistered  his  hands  ter- 
ribly, but  had  done  his  work  well.  His  employer  was 
delighted,  and,  finding  him  so  valuable  an  assistant, 
soon  gave  him  the  superintendence  of  all  his  ma- 
chinery, and  took  him  to  live  in  his  own  family. 

Powers  displayed  great  skill  in  the  management  of 
the  mechanical  department  of  the  business,  and  this, 
added  to  the  favor  shown  him  by  the  "boss,"  drew 
upon  him  the  jealousy  of  the  other  workmen.  In  face 
of  the  ridicule  of  the  workmen,  he  invented  a  ma 


HIRAM  POWERS.  307 

chh  s  for  cutting  out  wooden  clock  wheels,  in  con- 
side  ration  of  which  he  received  an  old  silver  bull's- 
eye  watch. 

Soon  after  this,  in  a  chance  visit  to  the  Museum  IE. 
Cincinnati,  he  saw  a  plaster  cast  of  Houdon's  "Wash- 
ington." It  was  the  first  bust  he  had  ever  seen,  and 
he  '•  Ays  it  moved  him  strangely.  He  had  an  intense 
dtj^re  to  know  how  it  was  done,  and  a  vague  con- 
sciousness that  he  could  do  work  of  the  same  kind  if 
he  could  find  an  instructor.  The  instructor  he  soon 
found  in  a  German  living  in  the  city,  who  made 
plaster  casts  of  busts,  and  from  him  he  learned  the 
secret  of  the  art.  He  proved  an  apt  pupil,  and  sur- 
prised his  teacher  by  his  proficiency. 

The  true  principles  of  his  art  seemed  to  come  to 
him  naturally,  and  having  the  genius  to  comprehend 
them  so  readily,  he  had  the  courage  to  hold  on  to 
them  often  in  the  face  of  adverse  criticism.  While 
conscious  of  having  a  perfectly  correct  eye,  however, 
he  did  not  scorn  the  humbler  method  of  obtaining 
(  cactness  by  mathematical  measurement. 

He  did  not  regularly  devote  himself  to  his  art,  how- 
ever, but  remained  in  the  employment  of  the  organ 
and  clock  maker  for  some  time  longer,  giving  his 
leisure  hours  to  constant  practice.  When  he  was 
abo''t  twenty-three  years  old.  a  Frenchman,  owning  a 


308  SELF-MADE  MEN. 

museum  of  natural  history  and  wax  figures,  induced 
him  to  become  "  inventor,  wax-figure  maker,  and  gen- 
eral mechanical  contriver  "  in  the  museum.  Powers 
remained  in  his  employ  for  seven  years,  hoping  all  the 
while  to  earn  money  enough  to  devote  himself  entirely 
to  art,  which  had  now  become  his  great  ambition.  He 
had  married  in  this  interval,  and  had  a  wife  and 
children  to  support. 

Powers  was  now  thirty  years  old  and  had  acquired 
considerable  reputation  in  Cincinnati  as  an  artist. 
His  abilities  coming  to  the  notice  of  Mr.  Nicholas 
Longworth,  of  that  city,  that  good  genius  of  young 
men  of  talent  called  on  him  and  offered  to  buy  out 
the  museum  and  establish  him  in  the  business.  The 
offer  was  declined  with  thanks.  Mr.  Longworth  then 
proposed  to  send  him  to  Italy  to  study  his  profession, 
but  this,  too,  being  declined,  Mr.  Longworth  urged 
him  to  go  to  Washington  and  try  his  fortune  with  the 
public  men  of  the  country.  To  this  Powers  consented, 
and,  aided  by  his  generous  friend,  he  repaired  to  the 
national  capital  in  1835,  and  spent  two  years  there. 
During  this  period  he  modeled  busts  of  Andrew  Jack- 
son, J.  Q.  Adams,  Calhoun,  Chief  Justice  Marshall, 
Woodbury,  Van  Buren,  and  others.  Being  unable  to 
secure  a  model  of  Webster  in  Washington,  the  states- 
man invited  him  to  go  to  Marshficld  for  that  purpose. 


HIRAM  POWERS.  300 

Powers  accepted  the  invitation,  and  declares  that  he 
looks  back  upon  his  sojourn  there  as  one  of  the  most 
delightful  portions  of  his  life. 

General  Jackson  was  very  kind  to  him,  and  won  his 
lasting  esteem  and  gratitude. 

One  of  his  sitters  in  Washington  was  Senator 
Preston,  of  South  Carolina,  who  conceived  such  an 
interest  in  him  that  he  wrote  to  his  brother,  General 
Preston,  of  Columbia,  South  Carolina,  a  gentleman  of 
great  wealth,  urging  him  to  come  to  the  artist's  assist- 
ance, and  send  him  to  Italy.  General  Preston  at  once 
responded  to  this  appeal,  of  which  Powers  was  igno- 
rant, and  wrote  to  the  artist  to  draw  on  him  for  a 
thousand  dollars,  and  go  to  Italy  at  once,  and  to  draw 
on  him  annually  for  a  similar  sum  for  several  years. 
Powers  was  profoundly  touched  by  this  noble  offer, 
and  accepted  it  as  frankly  as  it  had  been  made.  He 
sent  his  models  to  Italy,  and  took  his  departure  for 
the  Old  World  in  1837.  Speaking  of  Mr.  Preston's 
generosity,  he  said,  some  years  ago:  "I  have  en- 
deavored to  requite  his  kindness  by  sending  him  works 
of  mine,  equal  in  money  value  to  his  gifts;  but  I  can 
never  extinguish  my  great  obligations.  I  fear  he  don't 
like  me  since  the  war — for  I  could  not  suppress  my 
strong  national  feelings  for  any  man's  friendship — 
but  I  like  and  honor  hJnz  :  J  would  do  anything 


310  SELF-MADE  MEN. 

in  my  power  to  show  him  my  inextinguishable  grati- 
tude." 

He  reached  Florence  in  advance  of  his  models,  and 
while  waiting  for  them  made  two  busts,  one  of  a  pro- 
fessor in  Harvard  College,  ~nd  the  other  of  an  Amen 
can  lady.  A  severe  domestic  affliction,  however, 
which  came  upon  him  soon  after  his  arrival  in  Italy, 
affected  him  so  greatly  that  he  was  not  able  to  return 
to  his  work  for  a  long  time.  Then  he  applied  himself 
to  his  busts,  which  were  warmly  praised  by  the  artists 
in  Florence  and  by  his  countrymen  traveling  abroad. 
Thorwaldsen  visited  him  in  his  studio,  and  pronounced 
his  bust  of  Webster  the  best  work  of  its  kind  in  mod- 
ern times,  and  praises  from  other  distinguished  artists 
were  equally  as  warm.  Orders  came  in  rapidly  from 
English  and  Italians,  and  from  Americans  in  Europe, 
and  the  sculptor  soon  had  as  much  business  as  he 
could  attend  to.  He  gave  his  leisure  time  to  work  on 
an  ideal  figure,  which,  when  completed,  was  purchased 
by  an  English  gentleman  of  wealth.  This  was  "  The 
Greek  Slave/'  the  most  popular  of  all  his  works. 
Duplicates  of  it  were  exhibited  in  America  and  at  the 
Crystal  Palace  in  England,  and  won  him  praise  from 
all  quarters.  This  single  work  established  his  fame  as 
an  artist,  and  brought  him  orders  from  all  parts  of  the 
civ'lized  T  »rld.  His  statue  of  "  Eve,"  which  had 


HIRAM  POWERS.  311 

preceded  "  The  Greek  Slave  "  by  a  year,  had  been  pro- 
nounced by  Thorwaldsen  fit  to  be  any  man's  master- 
piece, but  it  had  not  created  such  a  furore  as  "  The 
Greek  Slave."  Subsequently  he  made  an  exquisite 
bust  of  the  Grand  Duchess  of  Tuscany,  with  which 
the  Grand  Duke  was  so  pleased  that  he  called  on 
Powers,  and  asked  him  as  a  favor  to  himself  to  apply 
to  him  whenever  he  could  do  him  a  service.  Powers 
asked  permission  to  take  a  cast  of  the  Venus,  and  this 
much-coveted  boon,  which  had  been  denied  to  other 
artists  for  years,  was  at  once  granted  to  him. 

Since  then  his  works  have  been  numerous.  Among 
these  are  "  The  Fisher  Boy,"  of  which  three  duplicates 
in  marble  have  been  made;  "  II  Penseroso;  "  "  Proser- 
pine," a  bust;  "  California;  "  "America,"  modeled  for 
the  Crystal  Palace  at  Sydenham,  England;  "Washing- 
ton "  and  "  Calhoun,"  portrait  statues,  the  former  for 
the  State  of  Louisiana,  and  the  latter  for  the  State 
of  South  Carolina;  and  "Benjamin  Franklin"  and 
"Thomas  Jefferson,"  in  the  Capitol  at  Washington. 
His  works  are  all  marked  by  beauty  and  vigor  of  con- 
ception as  well  as  by  exquisite  finish.  Beautiful  as  his 
ideal  figures  are,  he  yet  excels  in  his  busts  and  statues 
of  the  great  men  of  his  native  land.  His  "Jefferson  " 
and  "  Franklin  "  are  wonderful  works,  and  his  "  Cal- 
houn "  is  said  to  be  almost  life-like.  This  last  was 


312 


SELF-MADE  MEN. 


wrecked  on  the  coast  of  Long  Island  on  its  voyage  to 
America,  and  remained  in  the  sea  for  some  time,  but 
being  well  packed,  was  found,  when  raised,  to  be  only 
slightly  damaged  by  the  water. 

Mr.  Powers  resided  in  Italy  for  many  years,  and  his 
studio  was  a  favorite  resort  of  young  artists. 

He  died  several  years  ago,  revered  and  honored  by 
the  whole  world. 


JAY  GOULD. 


JAY  GOULD, 


THE    OUTCOME    OF    A    CAPITAL    OF    50    CENTS. 

"Some  are  born  great,  some  achieve  greatness,  and  some  have 
greatness  thrust  upon  them." — Shakespeare. 

X  most  of  the  countries  of  Europe,  and  especially 
in  England,  great  wealth,  when  uninherited,  is, 
as  a  general  thing,  realized  through  the  slow  and 
patient  channels  of  some  trade  or  calling.  This, 
doubtless,  is  owing  to  the  fact,  that  the  natural  re- 
sources of  these  countries  are  mainly  developed  to 
their  utmost  capacity,  and  that  so  narrow  are  their 
boundaries,  individually,  as  well  as  their  ideas  of  gov- 
ernment, the  spirit  of  enterprise  can  find  no  resting 
place  for  the  sole  of  its  foot  among  the  impoverished 
masses  of  their  dense  populations. 

When,  however,  we  come  to  contrast  this  undesira- 
ble state  of  things  with  the  condition  of  affairs  within 


316  SELF-MADE   MEN. 

the  boundaries  of  our  own  vast  commonwealth,  we 
are  at  once  struck  with  the  magnitude  of  their  dis- 
similarity. 

Here  a  newly  created  world,  so  to  speak,  possessed 
of  wealth  far  exceeding  that  of  "  Ormus,  and  of  Ind," 
and  teeming  with  all  the  resources  necessary  to  our 
greatness  and  happiness,  lies  spread  out  before  us  in 
boundless  expanses,  presenting  to  every  species  of 
enterprise  fields  for  operation  so  filled  with  promise, 
and  of  such  gigantic  magnitude,  that  those  of  the  Old 
World  are  dwarfed  into  utter  insignificance  before 
them.  Under  such  circumstances  it  is  not  a  matter 
of  surprise  that  our  vast  resources  are  becoming  rap- 
idly developed,  that  cities  and  civilizations  are  now 
being  scattered  through  regions  not  long  since  sacred 
to  the  foot  of  the  red  man,  and  that  constantly  in 
our  midst  some  adventurous  and  far-seeing  spirit  leaps 
from  out  the  masses,  and,  at  a  single  bound,  as  it 
were,  attains  to  colossal  wealth  and  importance. 

There  is  no  stronger  case  in  point  touching  this  lat- 
ter relation  than  that  presented  by  the  gentleman 
whose  name  appears  at  the  head  of  this  article,  and 
who  has  for  some  time  past  commanded  so  large  a 
share  of  the  public  attention  with  regard  to  the  bold- 
ness and  magnitude  of  his  operations  in  some  of  the 
leading  interests  of  our  economy. 


JAY   GOULD.  317 

Jay  Gould  was  born  in  Roxbury,  Delaware  County, 
a  rude  part  of  Western  New  York,  May  27,  1837  ;  so 
he  is  not  yet  46.  Indeed,  his  coal-black  beard  and 
hair,  which,  though  thin,  is  scarcely  touched  with  gray, 
indicate  a  man  below  middle  life. 

His  father,  John  B.  Gould,  was  a  poor  farmer,  and 
could  scarcely  earn  enough  to  support  his  large  fam- 
ily in  the  simplest  style.  The  boy  was  the  youngest, 
and,  when  at  the  age  of  10  or  12  his  great  thirst  for 
knowledge  developed,  his  elder  sisters,  young  ladies 
of  considerable  culture,  became  his  teachers.  Young 
Gould,  however,  early  betrayed  symptoms  of  genius 
and  self-reliance,  for  he  had  scarcely  got  well  into  his 
school  days  till  he  regarded  himself  already  a  man, 
and  invented  a  mouse  trap.  This  latter  has  been 
considered  by  some  as  either  a  bitter  sarcasm  upon 
the  unwieldy  dimensions  of  the  great,  square,  unsight- 
ly white  frame  house  in  which  he  was  born,  or  a 
graphic  foreshadowing  of  his  subsequent  operations 
in  Wall  street. 

His  boyhood  in  Roxbury  was  about  the  same  as 
that  of  other  boys  roundabout.  He  worked  around 
the  farm,  planting  and  hoeing,  going  to  district  school 
some,  doing  chores  and  milking  cows  nights,  and 
about  the  most  vivid  memory  of  that  time  is  of  an 
old  brindle  cow  that  he  tried  to  milk.  She  kicked 


318  SELF-MADE    MEN. 

him  in  the  most  skillful  manner,  and  he  turned  a  com- 
plete somerset  in  the  yard.  "  It  seems  funnier  now 
than  it  did  then,"  he  said. 

The  growing  boy  studied  nights,  read  all  the  books 
he  could  get  in  that  sparsely-settled  country,  and  at 
the  age  of  fourteen  appealed  to  his  father  to  send  him 
to  the  academy  in  the  adjoining  town.  His  father 
could  not  afford  it.  The  boy  thought  it  over  deliber- 
ately, felt  that  his  study  of  mathematics,  now  beyond 
the  instruction  of  Roxbury,  must  be  gratified  some- 
how, and  resolved  to  go  to  the  academy  and  pay  his 
own  expenses.  He  asked  his  father's  permission. 
"  Of  course  you  can  go  if  you  want  to,"  was  the  nat- 
ural reply;  "  you  ain't  good  for  much  here/'  It  was 
the  solemn  truth.  Jay  had  already  discovered 
that  he  was  not  born  to  be  a  farmer — by  a  large 
majority. 

The  next  morning  the  ambitious  youth  hastily  rose 
from  the  breakfast-table,  held  out  his  hand  to  his  sur- 
prised father,  and  said  "  Good-by."  There  were  tears, 
entreaties,  warnings,  but  he  burst  away,  seized  his 
little  bundle  of  clothes,  and  started  afoot  through  the 
wild  and  sparsely-settled  regions  over  the  mountains 
to  Hobart  Academy,  with  50  cents  in  his  pocket. 
Thirty-two  years  later,  being  charged  with  treacher- 
ously selling  out  his  associates,  he  laid  upon  a  table 


JAY  GOULD.  319 

stocks  and  bonds  of  his  own  of  the  value  of  $35,000,- 
ooo. 

Arrived  at  rtobart,  and  canvassing  the  town  for 
work,  he  got  a  chance  to  keep  books  for  the  village 
blacksmith,  who  had  started  a  little  store  next  to  the 
shop.  This  helped  him  out.  He  spent  mornings  and 
evenings  with  the  son  of  Vulcan  and  paid  his  way  at 
school.  He  rested  little,  played  little,  talked  little, 
worked  hard,  like  Napoleon  at  the  artillery  school  at 
Brienne.  He  made  surprising  progress.  In  six 
months  he  had  learned  what  the  academy  had  to 
teach  and  left  it.  He  left  the  village  blacksmith  too, 
and  entered  a  hardware  store  as  clerk,  devoting  his 
evenings  to  a  systematic  study  of  trigonometry  and 
surveying.  He  rose  at  4  in  the  morning  and  gave 
three  hours  to  book  and  slate.  He  borrowed  an  old 
compass  and  a  set  of  surveying  tools,  and,  inducing 
the  boys  of  the  village  to  become  his  flag  and  chain 
bearers  by  presenting  to  them  toys  of  his  own  manu- 
facture, he  succeeded  in  learning  practical  surveying 
'  without  a  master." 

At  the  same  time  he  applied  himself  to  the  hard- 
ware business  so  energetically  that  at  the  age  of  15 
the  little  prodigy  was  made  full  partner  and  intrusted 
with  the  entire  charge  of  the  business.  He  came  to 
New  York  for  the  first  time  in  his  life,  and  was  able 


220  SELF-MADE     MEN. 

to  open  accounts  with  Phelps,  Dodge  &  Co.,  and  other 
heavy  houses.  But  he  had  not  yet  found  his  career. 
The  hardware  trade  was  not  congenial,  and  the  same 
year,  1852,  he  slipped  out,  left  his  little  capital  behind, 
put  his  father  in  his  place,  and  engaged  to  take  charge 
of  a  surveying  party  at  $20  a  month,  to  complete  the 
map  of  Ulster  County.  He  organized  his  party,  and 
started  with  five  dollars  in  his  pocket ;  walked  40 
miles  the  first  day,  and  worked  a  fortnight,  when  his 
employer  suddenly  "  failed  "  before  he  had  paid  them 
a  cent.  Gould  at  once  resolved  to  carry  out  the  sur- 
vey himself.  What  now  happened  to  the  15-year  old 
boy  is  best  told  in  Mr.  Gould's  own  words : 

"  I  was  out  of  money,  that  is  to  say,  all  I  had  was 
a  lo-cent  piece,  and  with  that  last  coin  I  determined 
not  to  part.  (I  did  not  part  with  it  and  never  shall ;  I 
keep  it  now  as  a  memento.)  Fall  was  approaching, 
and  unless  our  surveys  were  finished  before  winter  set 
in  they  would  be  postponed  until  the  next  spring,  sub- 
jecting us  to  additional  expense,  and  perhaps  causing 
their  abandonment.  I  determined  to  go  ahead  if  pos- 
sible. But  how  ?  I  had  neither  time  nor  money  to 
go  back  to  Delaware  County  for  supplies.  I  was 
among  entire  strangers  and  without  credit.  I  could 
neither  advance  nor  retreat  without  money,  and  so 


JAY    GOULD  321 

deeply  did  I  deplore  the  ruin  of  our  project  that  I  shed 
tears. 

"  Tired  out  by  my  last  day's  tramp,  hungry,  and  de- 
jected, I  was  resting  in  a  rocky  nook  near  the  town  of 
Shawaugunk,  my  tears  trickling  down  on  the  face  of 
the  compass,  when  I  was  suddenly  hailed  by  a  farmer, 
who  asked  me  to  go  home  with  him  and  make  a  noon- 
mark — a  north  and  south  line  so  drawn  that  the  shad- 
ow of  an  upright  object  falling  upon  it  will  indicate 
midday.  I  was  asked  to  take  dinner  first,  and  joy- 
fully accepted,  as  I  had  supped  on  two  small  crackers 
the  previous  night,  and  had  been  hard  at  work  since 
daylight,  and  felt  exceedingly  faint.  After  a  hearty 
dinner  I  made  the  noon-mark,  and  was  about  to  bid 
the  hospitable  farmer  good-by,  when  he  asked  what  I 
charged  for  the  work.  I  said  I  charged  nothing — he 
was  welcome  to  it ;  but  he  offered  me  half  a  dollar, 
insisting  that  it  was  the  price  a  neighbor  had  paid  for 
one.  I  accepted  the  money  and  departed  rejoicing. 
If  I  had  discovered  a  new  continent  I  would  not  have 
been  more  elated,  for,  with  60  cents  in  my  pocket  and 
the  prospect  of  making  other  noon-marks  along  the 
route,  I  saw  a  way  to  carry  my  enterprise  through.  I 
can  never  forget  that  day.  From  that  time  forward 
the  fame  of  my  noon-marks  preceded  me.  Applica- 


322  SELF-MADE     MEN. 

tions  came  in  from  the  farmers  all  around,  and  out  of 
this  new  source  of  supply  I  paid  all  the  expenses  of 
my  surveys  and  came  out  at  the  completion  with  $6  in 
my  pocket." 

A  respectable  sum  was  received  from  the  map. 
Young  Gould  now  became  a  professional  surveyor 
and  civil  engineer.  He  mapped  Albany,  Ulster, 
Greene,  and  Delaware  Counties,  in  New  York,  Lake 
and  Geauga  Counties  in  Ohio,  and  Oakland  County 
in  Michigan ;  made  the  surveys  for  a  plank  road  and 
a  railroad  ;  wrote  and  published  a  history  of  Dela- 
ware County ;  started  a  tannery,  where  he  employed 
250  men;  built  a  town  (Gouldsboro)  ;  and  established 
a  bank,  and  carried  it  through  the  panic  of  1857,  be- 
fore he  was  21. 

He  sold  an  interest  in  his  town  for  $80,000,  and 
invested  the  money  in  depreciated  railroad  securities 
after  the  panic.  Soon  after  this  he  secured  a  con- 
trolling interest  in  two  railroads,  and  it  was  not  long 
before  he  embarked  all  his  fortunes  in  the  Erie,  with 
what  success  is  well  known.  With  herculean  energy 
he  has  reached  out  and  gathered  in  the  reins  of  trans- 
portation dropped  by  other  hands,  till  now  he  is  the 
central  figure  of  30,000  miles  of  railroad  communica- 
tion, and  the  most  potent  financial  genius  in  the  Re- 
public. 


JAY    GOULD.  323 

His  present  quarrel  with  the  Mutual  Union  Tele- 
graph, undertaken  in  behalf  of  his  pet,  the  Western 
Union,  is  said  to  worry  Mr.  Gould  more  than  any- 
thing else  he  has  recently  done.  He  is  surprised  to 
see  the  new  company  develop  such  fighting  qualities, 
and  he  has  been  tempted  to  do  some  things  of  the 
Jim  Fisk  order  that  are  not  regarded  as  quite  square 
by  his  associates,  Cyrus  Field,  Dr.  Green,  Gen.  Eck- 
ert,  and  men  sensitive  to  business  honor — such  as  the 
recent  breaking  open  and  examining  of  John  G. 
Moore's  private  papers  during  his  absence  from  the 
city. 

Jay  Gould  is  not  "  nice,"  but  his  quarrels  do  not 
rankle.  Russel  Sage  said  to  me  a  fortnight  ago : 
"  Gould  is  one  of  the  best-natured  of  men.  After  the 
failure  of  that  persistent  conspiracy  to  ruin  him,  in 
which  his  fingers  certainly  were  pinched  some,  he  was 
just  as  pleasant  as  ever  with  the  parties  to  it ;  he 
dealt  with  them  as  freely  as  ever,  and  gave  them  as 
many  chances  as  anybody.  But  while  the  contest 
lasts  he  never  lets  up.  The  bears  at  present  are  not 
having  a  very  good  time  in  their  dealings  with  him." 

Mr.  Gould  lives  in  an  unpretentious  but  spacious 
mansion  at  the  corner  of  Fifth  avenue  and  Forty-sec- 
ond street  in  the  winter  time.  His  tastes  are  simple 
and  democratic.  His  habits  are  thoroughly  domestic. 


324  SELF-MADE     MEN. 

He  is  not  likely  to  die  as  Tom  Scott  died  three  years 
ago  ;  for  he  uses  neither  liquor  nor  tobacco,  loves  his 
family,  retires  at  10  and  rises  at  6.  Mr.  Gould  has  a 
fine  library,  with  a  choice  selection  of  books,  strong 
in  the  department  of  history,  and  he  is  a  close  student 
out  of  business  hours.  He  is  not  a  religious  man,  like 
Russel  Sage,  but  goes  to  church  sometimes. 

Mrs.  Gould  is  a  daughter  of  a  Mr.  Miller,  a  refired 
grocer  of  the  city,  and  is  a  quiet,  refined  and  interest- 
ing lady.  There  are  six  children,  equally  divided  be- 
tween the  sexes,  and  the  three  boys  are  all  in  business 
with  their  father.  The  eldest,  George  J.  Gould,  a 
youth  of  22,  is  a  member  of  the  firm  of  W.  E.  Con- 
nor &  Co.,  of  which  Mr.  Morsini  is  also  a  member, 
and  Jay  Gould  himself  is  special  partner.  Connor, 
by  the  way,  known  to  his  familiars  as  "  Wash,"  began 
life  as  Mr.  Gould's  office-boy,  and  is  now  a  million- 
aire— and  more,  too, 

The  Gould  summer-house  is  at  "  LyndTiurst,"  near 
Irvington,  up  the  Hudson,  and  comprises  about  600 
acres  of  beautiful  land,  and  one  of  the  finest  conser- 
vatories and  graperies  in  America.  Rare  plants  and 
flowers  have  been  sent  to  him  from  all  parts  of  the 
world,  until  his  place  is  stocked  with  the  choice  plants 
of  every  zone  and  meridian.  Mr.  Gould  has  made  a 
close  study  of  botany,  and  can  call  most  of  his  plants 


JAY    GOULD.  325 

by  name.  He  has  now  in  his  gallery  hundreds  of  val- 
uable paintings,  his  own  taste  running  to  modern  art 
— the  best  works  of  the  French  masters — Meissonier, 
Millet,  Delaroche,  Bouguereau,  Delacroix,  etc. 

In  his  office  he  is  very  reserved  and  laconic.  His 
associates  and  clerks  have  learned  to  read  his  mean- 
ing from  a  word  or  look.  His  mail  is  encumbered 
every  day  with  scores  of  begging  letters,  which  never 
reach  him,  but  are  destroyed  by  his  secretary.  He 
agrees  with  Russel  Sage  and  other  wealthy  men  that 
promiscuous  charity  is  to  be  avoided,  and  he  gives  only 
to  the  best  attested  cases.  During  the  yellow  fever 
troubles  he  telegraphed  to  the  Mayor  of  Memphis, 
"  Draw  on  me  for  all  the  money  you  want." 

Mr.  Gould  seldom  goes  to  balls ;  doesn't  care  for 
general  society ;  avoids  display ,  never  reads  novels  ; 
spends  most  of  his  spare  time  in  the  large  room  that  is 
walled  up  with  5,000  volumes  of  standard  literature  of 
a  solid  sort. 


THURLOW  WEED 


FIFTY    YEARS    A    JOURNALIST. 

Thurlow  Weed,  the  Nestor  of  American  journalists, 
was  born  on  November  15,  1797,  at  Catskill,  Greene 
County,  N.'Y.,  whither  his  parents  had  emigrated  from 
Stamford,  Conn.,  in  the  hopes  of  bettering  their  slen- 
der fortunes.  Joel  Weed,  his  father,  was  a  worthy 
honest,  industrious  carman,  who,  despite  his  best  ef- 
forts, was  often  in  jail  for  debt,  and  among  the  earliest 
boyish  recollections  of  young  Thurlow  were  his  visits 
to  his  father  when  in  confinement,  or  "  on  the  limits." 
The  boy,  by  the  way,  was  originally  named  Edward 
Thurlow,  after  Edward  Lord  Thurlow,  Chancellor  of 
the  Realm,  but  the  Edward  was  soon  dropped.  There 
was  little  or  no  schooling  for  the  children  of  the  poor 
in  the  early  days  of  the  Republic,  and  young  Thurlow 
at  an  early  age  was  helping  to  earn  money  to  support 
the  family.  He  found  occasional  employment  in  run- 
ning errands  and  doing  odd  jobs,  and  when  about  10 


THURLOW  WEED. 


THURLOW   WEED.  329 

years  of  age  began  to  shift  for  himself.  He  became 
first  a  cabin-boy  and  then  a  deck  hand  on  board  the 
sloop  Jefferson,  and  afterwards  on  the  sloop  Ranger. 
He  spent  an  entire  summer  in  this  way,  earning  a  few 
dollars  a  month,  which  were  cheerfully  sent  home. 
After  a  year's  cruising  he  abandoned  the  water,  owing 
to  attacks  of  vertigo  whenever  he  attempted  to  mount 
the  rigging.  During  his  seaman  life  he  first  visited 
New  York,  and  while  there  he  earned  his  first  shilling 
by  carrying  the  trunk  of  one  of  the  sloop  passengers 
up  Broad  street  to  a  hotel.  In  the  winter  of  1808 
Joel  Weed  moved  his  family  further  west,  to  Cincin- 
natus,  Cortland  County,  N.  Y.  Young  Thurlow  went 
to  work  with  a  will  at  the  new  avocations  before  him, 
helping  in  the  asheries,  the  tanneries,  the  logging,  the 
fencing,  the  clearing,  the  plowing,  and  the  other  du- 
ties pertaining  to  farm  life  in  that  section.  While 
here,  Weed  enjoyed  the  advantage  of  a  few  months' 
schooling  in  the  rudiments  at  a  little  country  school- 
house,  and  improved  every  opportunity  to  satisfy  his 
growing  passion  for  reading.  In  the  winter  of  1811 
he  attained  the  height  of  his  boyish  ambition  when 
his  proffered  services  were  accepted  as  an  apprentice  in 
the  office  of  a  small  weekly  newspaper  called  the  Lynx, 
published  by  Theodore  C.  Fay,  at  Onondaga  Hollow, 
Onondaga  County,  N.  Y.  At  first  the  tall,  strong  awk- 


330  SELF-MADE    MEN. 

ward  boy  was  assigned  to  the  laborious  task  of"  tread- 
ing pelts  "  and  pulling  at  the  old  Ramage  press.  But  he 
soon  rose  from  apprentice  to  journeyman,  and  trudg- 
ing on  foot  from  town  to  to\vn  obtained  employment 
in  one  printing-office  after  another.  Among  the 
various  places  at  which  he  worked  at  the  case  or  at 
the  press  were  Onondaga  Hollow,  Manlius,  Auburn, 
Geneva,  Albany,  New  York,  Herkimer,  and  Coopers- 
town.  During  the  war  of  1812,  young  Weed  was  in 
the  army,  having  enlisted  in  a  Herkimer  County  regi- 
ment under  Col.  Petrie,  in  1813.  He  was  shortly 
after  made  Quartermaster-Sergeant,  and  spent  several 
months  in  camp  life  at  Sackett's  Harbor,  N.  Y.  After 
the  war  he  was  employed  in  various  offices  in  Franklin 
Square  and  Pearl  Street,  in  New  York,  at  one  time  be- 
ing a  fellow-workman  with  James  Harper,  the  late 
head  of  the  great  publishing  house.  Mr.  Weed  was 
an  excellent,  industrious  workman,  whose  dissipations 
were  confined  to  the  theater — he  was  passionately 
fond  of  the  drama — and  a  stroll  upon  the  Battery,  the 
then  fashionable  resort.  Here  he  became  acquainted 
by  sight  with  the  leading  personages  of  the  metro- 
polis, and  soon  came  to  know  the  men  who  played  a 
prominent  part  in  political  life.  He  had  a  natural 
proclivity  toward  politics,  as  he  had  toward  the  print- 
ing office.  He  was  an  active  worker  at  local  meet- 


THURLOW    WEED.  331 

ings  and  at  the  polls  on  election  days,  although  de- 
prived himself  of  the  right  of  suffrage  on  account  of 
the  property  qualification  for  voters.  In  April,  1818, 
Mr.  Weed  married  Miss  Catherine  M.  Ostrander,  of 
Cooperstown,  N.  Y.,  a  woman  of  remarkably  good 
sense  and  prudence,  industry,  religious  principles, 
and  domestic  habits,  whose  thrift  did  much  to  build 
up  a  competence  out  of  her  husband's  slender  in- 
come. 

His  marriage  led  Mr.  Weed  to  look  for  higher  and 
more  remunerative  employment.  He  now  aspired  to 
be  an  editor.  His  first  connection  with  the  press  as 
an  editor  was  in  Chenango  County,  where  he  started 
the  weekly  Republican  Agriculturist,  in  December, 
1818.  It  was  Clintonian  in  politics,  and  supported 
the  project  of  constructing  the  Erie  Canal.  In  1821, 
he  purchased  an  interest  in  the  Manlius  Times,  which 
he  sold  out  a  year  or  two  later.  Going  to  Rochester 
he  secured  the  position  of  assistant  editor  on  the 
Rochester  Telegraph.  The  entire  control  of  the  pa- 
per was  soon  left  in  his  hands,  and  by  his  tact  and  ad- 
dress in  political  writing  and  management  he  rose 
rapidly  in  the  esteem  of  the  citizens  of  that  town,  so 
that  when  Rochester  felt  the  need  of  a  bank,  Mr. 
Weed  was  unanimously  chosen  to  go  to  Albany  to  get 
the  necessary  charter.  His  mission  was  so  satisfactory 


332  SELF-MADE    MEN. 

that  in  1824  Rochester  sent  him  to  the  State  As- 
sembly. During  his  single  year's  service  in  the  Legis- 
lature he  displayed  the  skill  for  political  manipulation, 
which  characterized  his  after-life.  It  is  claimed  that 
through  his  management  the  legislative  caucus,  which 
was  expected  to  choose  Electors  favorably  to  Gen. 
Jackson  under  party  pressure,  were  supplied  with  a 
mixed  ticket,  enabling  them  to  follow  their  own  in- 
clinations, and  chose  Electors  whose  votes  were  cast 
as  follows  :  Adams,  26  ;  Crawford,  5  ;  Clay,  4 ;  Jack- 
son, i.  Returning  to  Rochester  he  became  editor 
and  half  owner  of  the  Telegraph,  whose  circulation 
and  influence  was  steadily  increasing.  The  myster- 
ious disappearance  of  Capt.  William  Morgan  and  the 
anti-Masonic  craze  which  followed  the  alleged  Ma- 
sonic murder  suddenly  became  important  factors  in 
Mr.  Weed's  life.  He  took  the  anti-Masonic  side,  and 
in  the  hight  of  the  excitement  the  Telegraph  went 
went  down  through  the  withdrawal  of  all  Masonic 
support. 

The  anti-Masonic  party  soon  began  not  only  to 
nominate,  but  elect  public  officers  in  the  west- 
ern part  of  the  State.  Their  success  then  filled  them 
with  hopes  of  political  ascendancy  in  the  State  and 
perhaps  in  the  Nation.  One  of  the  first  needs  of 
the  new  party  was  an  organ  at  the  State  Capital, 


THURLOW    WEED. 

where  it  had  already  had  a  respectable  representa- 
tion in  the  Legislature.  By  general  consent  Thurlow 
Weed  was  chosen  to  conduct  this  paper.  The  neces- 
sary fund  as  easily  raised,  and  on  March  22,  1830,. 
the  first  number  of  the  Albany  Evening  Journal  ap- 
peared. Before  the  Spring  was  over  the  paper  was 
acknowledged  to  be  the  organ  of  the  Anti-Masonic 
party.  At  that  time  Mr.  Weed  constituted  the  staff  of 
the  paper.  He  was  editor-in-chief,  managing  editor,, 
news  editor,  local  reporter,  legislative  reporter,  and' 
proof  reader.  This  work  occupied  his  days.  His 
evenings  were  spent  in  political  consultations. 

The  panic  of  1837,  growing  out  of  the  financial  and 
commercial  policy  of  Jackson  and  Van  Buren,  as  was 
claimed,  gave  the  Whigs  the  wished-for  opportunity 
of  overthrowing  the  Regency  and  securing  control! 
of  gNew  York.  In  1838,  Seward  and  Bradish,  the 
Whig  candidates,  were  elected  Governor  and  Lieu- 
tenant-Governor,  and  the  Whigs  had  a  majority  in  the 
State  Assembly.  As  the  party  gained  in  power 
and  prestige,  Mr.  Weed  found  the  field  of  his  labors- 
vastly  enlarged.  Formerly  he  had  been  organizing. 
and  building  up  a  minority  party,  now  he  was  the 
acknowledged  leader  of  a  party  in  control  of  the  State 
Government  and  marching  steadily  on  to  the  control  of 
National  affairs.  So  accustomed  had  the  party  grown 


334  SELF-MADE    MEN. 

to  rely  on  the  guidance  of  the  Evening  Journal  and  its 
editor  that  the  politicians  of  the  State  were  in  constant 
consultation  with  Mr.  Weed,  who  was  already  called 
"  the  Dictator,"  "  the  Warwick,"  "the  Old  Man,"  etc. 

It  is  doubtful  if  any  one  man  ever  had  such  com- 
plete control  of  a  party  or  had  his  advice  so  implic- 
itly followed  by  its  members  as  Mr.  Weed  in  his  rela- 
tions to  the  Whig  party. 

The  great  secret  of  his  sway  undoubtedly  was  his 
disinterestedness.  He  sought  no  office  for  himself 
and  would  take  none.  Among  the  qualities  which 
peculiarly  marked  Mr.  Weed's  career  was  his  pene- 
tration of  character  displayed  in  his  admirable  selec- 
tion of  the  right  men  for  the  right  places.  In  1838 
the  Whig  Central  Committee  desiring  to  publish  a 
campaign  political  paper,  Mr.  Weed  went  to  New 
York  in  seach  of  an  editor  and  returned  with  Horace 
Greeley,  who  edited  '(hzjejfersonian  in  that  campaign 
and  the  Log  Cabin  in  the  Presidential  contest  of  1840. 

Mr.  Weed  was  a  thorough  journalist  and  a  "  practical 
politician,"  of  unerring  memory,  proverbial  tact,  mi- 
raculous intuitions,  and  great  mastery  over  men.  He 
preferred  to  be  the  power  behind  the  throne  rather  than 
the  semblance  of  power  on  the  throne.  He  was  re- 
peatedly urged  to  run  for  offices,  ranging  from  Vice- 
President  down  to  Mayor  of  Albany,  but  invariably 


THURLOW    WEED.  335 

declined.  Three  times  he  was  offered  the  English 
Mission  by  three  different  Presidents  whom  he  had 
helped  elect.  Mr.  Weed  took  a  prominent  part  in  the 
Harrisburg  Convention  and  urged  the  selection  of 
Gen.  Harrison,  in  opposition  to  the  desires  of  Henry 
Clay's  friends.  The  popular  whirlwind  of  "  hard  cider 
and  log  cabin"  times  which  swept  the  country  for 
"Tippecanoe  and  Tyler  too'  proved  the  wisdom  of 
.the  choice.  Mr.  Weed's  suggestion  in  regard  to  Cab- 
inet officers  and  other  prominent  appointments  were 
listened  to  with  favor  by  Gen.  Harrison,  who  made 
Francis  Granger,  of  New  York,  his  Postmaster-Gen- 
eral, and  would  doubtless  have  dispensed  the  Federal 
patronage  in  New  York,  largely  according  to  Mr. 
Weed's  desires.  But  the  Whig  triumph  was  short- 
lived, as  President  Harrison  died  a  few  weeks  after 
his  inauguration. 

In  1843,  Mr.  Weed  made  his  first  trip  to  Europe,  re- 
maining abroad  some  months  and  describing  his  trav- 
els in  letters  to  the  Journal,  which  were  widely  copied. 
The  year  1851,  brought  to  Mr.  Weed  a  sad  domestic 
affliction  in  the  death  of  his  only  son.  He  went  to 
Europe  again  early  in  the  Winter,  spending  several 
months  abroad  in  general  travel. 

The  first  Republican  National  Convention  at  Phila- 
delphia, in  1856,  when  Senator  Seward  was  suggested 


336  SELF-MADE    MEN. 

on  all  sides  as  the  proper  candidate,  Mr.  Weed,  un- 
willing to  risk  a  defeat  of  his  favorite  at  such  a  time, 
induced  the  New  York  delegation  to  go  for  Gen.  Fre- 
mont, and  act  which  led  to  his  nomination.  The  suc- 
cess of  the  Republicans  in  New  York  was  instantan- 
eous. Gen.  Fremont  had  80,000  majority  in  the  State. 
John  A.  King  was  elected  Governor,  and  the  party 
controlled  the  Legislature.  Weed's  first  choice  for 
President  was  his  best  and  life-long  friend,  William 
H  Seward.  To  put  him  in  at  the  head  of  the  Chicago 
ticket  he  devoted  all  his  extraordinary  abilities.  The 
Republicans  of  New  York  were  a  unitYor  their  "  favorite 
son,"  and  so  well  were  all  the  plans  laid  that  Mr. 
Weed  did  not  consider  defeat  a  possibility.  Xet 
speaking  of  the  actual  result,  a  short  time  since,  he 
said  it  seemed  to  him  like  a  special  stroke  of  Provi- 
dence for  the  good  of  the  United  States.  When  the 
balloting  commenced  on  the  third  day  of  the  conven- 
tion Seward 's  friends  were  disappointed  to  find  Penn- 
sylvania, where  Seward  was  strong,  and  where  Camer- 
on had  led  Seward's  friends  to  expect  his  support, 
going  against  him.  The  subsequent  change  of  Penn- 
sylvania from  Cameron  to  Lincoln  carried  the  nomi- 
nation of  the  "  Rail-Splitter"  on  the  third  ballot. 
Mr.  Weed,  it  is  needless  to  say,  was  greatly  disap- 
pointed at  the  defeat  of  Seward.  Immediately  after 


THURLOW    WEED.  337 

the  nomination,  while  annoyed  and  dejected,  and 
about  to  leave  Chicago,  David  Davis  and  Leonard 
Swett,  who  had  worked  zealously  for  Lincoln,  came 
to  Mr.  Weed's  room  to  converse  with  him  about  the 
approaching  canvass.  He  frankly  informed  them 
that  he  was  so  greatly  disappointed  at  the  action  of 
the  convention  that  he  was  unable  to  talk  or  think  on 
the  subject,  and  was  going  to  Iowa  for  a  few  days. 
At  their  request  he  stopped  at  Springfield  on  his  way 
home  and  had  an  interview  with  Lincoln.  Of  this 
meeting  Mr.  Weed  afterward  wrote  :  "  I  had  met  Lin- 
coln in  the  fall  of  1848,  when  he  took  the  stump  in 
New  England.  He  displayed  throughout  the  conver- 
sation so  much  good  sense,  intuitive  knowledge  of 
human  nature,  and  such  familiarity  with  the  virtues 
and  infirmities  of  politicians,  that  I  became  impressed 
very  favorably  with  his  fitness  for  the  duties  which  he 
was  not  unlikely  to  be  called  upon  to  discharge.  The 
conversation  lasted  five  hours,  and  when  the  train  ar- 
rived on  which  we  were  to  depart  I  was  all  the  better 
prepared  to  go  to  work  with  a  will  in  favor  of  Mr. 
Lincoln's  election,  as  the  interview  had  inspired  me 
with  confidence  in  his  capacity  and  integrity."  Di- 
rectly after  the  convention  the  Journal  did  not  place 
the  Chicago  ticket  at  the  head  of  its  editorial  columns. 
When  the  result  of  the  Presidential  contest  was 


338  SELF-MADE    MEN. 

kncrvvn  Mr.  Weed  was  pressed  to   visit  Mr.   Lincoln 
for  the  purpose  of  advising  him  on  the  formation  of 
the  Cabinet.     At  this  meeting  he  first  learned  what 
inducement  had  swayed  the  Pennsylvania  delegation 
to   vote  against  Seward.      There  were  a  number  of 
leading  Republicans  present,  and,  after  discussion,  all 
the  Cabinet  positions  were  agreed  on  except  that  of 
Secretary  of  the  Treasury.     Nothing  being  said  about 
the  place,  Mr.  Weed  asked  who  was  to  have  that  de- 
partment, and  was  surprised  to  hear  that  it  was  re- 
served for  Simon  Cameron.     Some  objections  to  this 
designation  being  made,  the   slate  was  revised,  and 
Cameron   was   put  down    for  the  War    Department. 
Between  the  President  and  Mr.  Weed  a  strong  attach- 
ment grew  up,  and  at  various  critical  junctures  in  the 
struggle  the   President  entrusted  the  journalist  with 
missions  of  the  most  delicate  and  important  nature. 
Just  before  the  outbreak  of  the  War  one  of  the  duties 
intrusted  to  him  was  to  secure  the  influence  of  the 
New  York  Herald  on  the  side  of  the  administration. 
The  sympathies  of  that  paper  were  with  the  South ; 
and  its  opposition  to  Lincoln  encouraged   the  Rebel- 
lion and  strengthened  the  Rebel  cause.     With  its  large 
circulation  in  Europe  the  Herald  was  creating  a  dan- 
gerous public  sentiment  abroad,  and  the  necessity  of 


THURLOW    WEED.  339 

securing  a  change  of  policy,  was  considered  at  a  Cab- 
inet meeting,  at  which  it  was  decided  that  Mr.  Weed 
should  be  asked  to  undertake  the  task.  Although  he 
and  Mr.  Bennett  had  not  spoken  to  one  another  for 
thirty  years,  Mr.  Weed  at  the  urgent  request  of  Presi- 
dent Lincoln  sent  word  that  he  wished  to  see  Mr. 
Bennett,  and  was  invited  to  visit  him  at  Washington 
Heights. 

The  two  editors  sat  long  at  table,  and,  although 
nothing  was  said  directly  about  the  policy  of  the  Her- 
ald, Mr.  Weed  put  the  situation  so  forcibly,  appealing 
to  Mr.  Bennett's  judgment  and  to  his  sense  of  duty, 
as  an  influential  journalist,  to  the  Government  and 
the  Union,  that  the  Herald  came  out  the  next  day  as 
a  strong  Union  paper.  Shortly  after  this  episode  Mr. 
Weed's  mission  to  England  and  France  was  under- 
taken. It  was  deemed  important  by  Mr.  Lincoln  that 
some  gentleman  of  experience  and  intelligence,  pos- 
sessing a  thorough  knowledge  of  all  the  circumstances 
which  preceded  and  occasioned  the  Rebellion,  should 
be  sent  abroad  to  disabuse  the  public  mind  of  false 
impressions,  especially  in  England  and  France,  where 
numerous  agents  of  secession  had  been  at  work  in 
quarters  too  ready  to  accept  versions  of  the  existing 
dispute  unfavorable  to  the  North.  Mr.  Weed  was  in- 


340  SELF-MADE   MEN. 

diiced  to  accept  this  task,  and  set  sail  with  Archbishop 
Hughes  as  a  fellow  Commissioner  in  the  Africa,  on 
Nov.  6,  1 86 1. 

The  news  of  the  taking  of  Mason  and  Slidell  was 
brought  to  Europe  by  the  steamer  which  followed  the 
Africa  on  which  Mr.  Weed  and  the  Archbishop  sailed. 
The  feeling  in  England  and  France,  as  well  as  in  this 
country,  was  such  that  the  danger  of  war  was  most 
imminent.  Antecedents  and  traditions  led  us  to  hope 
for  sympathy  in  France,  and  to  apprehend  hostility  in 
England.  But  with  the  exception  of  the  Prince  Na- 
poleon, who,  as  Mr.  Weed  relates,  was  friendly  to  us, 
the  French  were  opposed,  at  this  time,  to  the  Union. 
The  Trent  affair  occurring  as  it  did  at  a  most  critical 
moment,  united  "  all  England  "  for  war.  It  was  felt 
that  unless  the  Confederate  Commissioners,  Mason 
and  Slidell,  were  released,  that  war  was  inevitable. 
While  matters  stood  in  this  uncertain  shape  Mr.  Weed 
met  Mr.  McCullogh  Torrens  in  London  the  next 
morning  after  his  arrival,  early  in  December,  1861. 
The  introduction  was  at  the  hands  of  Mr.  Peabody, 
the  eminent  philanthropist,  who  was  an  old  friend  of 
Mr.  Weed's.  Mr.  Torrens  said  that  the  arrival  of 
Mr.  Weed  was  most  opportune.  He  must  see  Earl 
Russell  immediately.  Mr.  Weed  replied  that  Mr. 
Adams,  then  our  Minister,  would  present  him  to  the 


THURLOW    WEED.  341 

Earl  as  soon  as  practicable.  'That  will  not  do,"  said 
Mr.  Torrens.  "  Time  presses,  you  must  see  the  Earl 
to-morrow,"  adding  that  he  would  arrange  an  audie  nc  e 

• 

and  let  Mr.  Weed  know  the  time  and  place  that  even- 
ing. Mr.  Weed  was  surprised  at  the  warm  interest 
manifested  by  an  Englishman  and  a  stranger,  and 
doubtful  as  to  the  propriety  of  anticipating  the  kind 
intentions  of  Mr.  Adams,  but  that  gentleman  relieved 
his  doubt  and  advised  him  by  all  means  to  avail  him- 
self of  this  timely  offer.  Mr.  Weed  dined  that  day 
with  Sir  J.  Emerson  Tennent,  meeting  a  large  and 
wh'at  proved  to  be  a  war  party  of  gentlemen,  among 
them  the  Colonel  of  a  regiment  which  was  to  leave 
London  the  next  morning  to  embark  at  Liverpool  for 
Canada.  The  Colonel  was  toasted,  and  in  response 
made  a  brief  but  exciting  war  speech,  dwelling  with 
much  effect  upon  the  duty  of  Englishmen  to  resent 
the  insult  to  their  flag.  Mr.  Weed  was  seated  at  the 
table  next  to  Lord  Paget,  of  the  Admiralty,  who  in- 
formed him  that  their  preparations  for  war  were  active 
and  formidable,  and  that  for  the  first  time  since  1815 
they  were  working  "  double-handed  "  night  and  day 
in  the  dock-yards.  In  passing  by  the  famous  London 
Tower  Mr.  Weed  had  himself  heard  that  day  the 
clanking  of  arms  that  were  in  process  of  shipment  for 
instant  service.  Returning  to  his  hotel  after  dinner 


3-i2  SELF-MADE    MEN. 

he  found  Mr.  Torrens,  who  directed  him  to  leave  the 
city  the  next  morning  at  n  o'clock,  and  drive  to  Pem- 
broke Lodge,  Earl  Russell's  country  seat.  Mr.  Weed 
found  the  Minister  the  next  day  alone,  and  was  cour- 
teously received.  Conversation  was  at  first  embar- 
rassed by  an  evident  determination  on  Earl  Russeirs 
part  to  ignore  all  other  questions  until  the  honor  of 
England  should  be  satisfied  by  the  surrender  of  Mason 
and  Slidell.  Gradually,  however,  the  restraint  passed 
away,  and  his  Lordship  explained  the  circumstances 
which  led  to  the  Queen's  proclamation  giving  bellig- 
erent rights  to  the  Rebel  States.  He  had  come  to  the 
conclusion  that  the  North  was  the  real  aggressor. 
After  an  hour  and  a  half's  conversation,  during  which 
Mr.  Weed  endeavored  to  remove  that  impression, 
lunch  was  announced,  and  the  conversation  became 
general.  In  the  drawing-room,  after  the  Earl  had 
conversed  aside  with  Lady  Russell  for  a  few  minutes, 
Mr.  Weed  was  about  to  take  leave,  when  Lady  Rus- 
sell interrupted,  saying  :  "  You  must  not  go  without 
seeing  the  Lodge  grounds,"  in  walking  through  which 
her  Ladyship  pointed  out  various  objects  with  which 
history  had  made  her  visitor  familiar.  In  the  course 
of  the  walk  she  remarked  that  ladies,  of  course,  knew 
nothing  of  State  secrets,  but  that  they  had  ears,  and 
sometimes  heard  things  not  perhaps  intended  for 


THURLOW    WEED.  343 

them,  adding  that  it  would  probably  relieve  Mr- 
Weed's  anxiety  to  know  that  in  our  difficulties  the 
sympathies  of  the  Queen  were  with  the  United  States; 
that  her  Majesty  remembered  the  attentions  extended 
to  her  son,  the  Prince  of  Wales,  and  would  do  every- 
thing in  her  power  to  prevent  a  rupture  with  America. 
With  this  gleam  of  hope  Mr.  Weed  returned  to  his 
hotel  well  satisfied  with  his  visit  to  the  Minister. 

While  waiting  with  the  most  intense  solicitude  for 
the  decision  of  our  Government  upon  the  demand  for 
the  surrender  of  the  Confederate  Commissioners,  Mr. 
Weed  received  from  his  friend,  the  Hon.  Arthur  Kin- 
naird,  M.  P.,  in  the  strictest  confidence  positive  evi- 
dence that  the  Queen  had  at  the  right  moment  caused 
the  dispatch  demanding  the  surrender  of  Mason  and 
Slidell  to  be  so  modified  as  to  render  a  compliance 
with  it  less  difficult  to  Mr.  Lincoln.  Several  days 
after  receiving  this  information,  confirming  the  assur- 
ance of  Lady  Russell,  Mr.  Weed  received  additional 
evidence  from  another  high  source,  the  honored  and 
lamented  Sir  Henry  Holland,  physician  to  the  Queen, 
who  was  a  daily  visitor  at  Mr.  Weed's  lodgings,  and 
often  afterward,  on  his  visits  to  New  York,  was  a  wel- 
come guest  at  Mr.  Weed's  residence.  Sir  Henry  had 
been  informed  by  the  Queen  what  occurred  between 
her  Majesty,  Lord  Palmerston,  and  Prince  Albert, 


34:4:  SELF-MADE    MEN. 

when  the  dispatch  demanding  the  surrender  was 
brought  to  Windsor  for  approval.  Whatever  passes 
between  the  Queen  and  her  Ministers,  while  a  question 
is  under  consideration,  is  in  its  nature  confidential, 
and  Mr.  Weed  never  felt  that  he  was  at  liberty  to 
make  a  full  revelation  of  the  facts  within  his  knowl- 
edge, except  to  a  few  friends  and  members  of  his  fam- 
ily. It  is  enough,  perhaps,  to  know  that  on  three 
occasions  during  the  first  year  of  the  Rebellion  her 
Majesty  contributed  essentially  to  the  preservation  of 
peace  between  this  country  and  England,  and  that  on 
two  occasions  she  discountenanced  suggestions  from 
the  French  Government  which  meant  war.  When  the 
consultation  at  Windsor  Castle  above  referred  to  took 
place  the  Prince  Consort,  at  the  Queen's  suggestion, 
•made  certain  interlineations  in  the  dispatch  to  Mr. 
Seward,  which  was,  so  Sir  Henry  informed  Mr.  Weed, 
"the  last  time  that  the  Prince  used  his  pen."  The 
conflict  between  the  Rebels  and  the  Government  at 
Washington  was  formidable  enough,  as  we  all  realize 
now,  without  the  aggravations  of  a  simultaneous  con- 
flict with  England  and  France.  The  French  Emperor 
was  unquestionably  in  favor  of  the  Southern  States, 
and  desired  to  aid  them  even  at  the  expense  of  a  war 
with  our  Government.  As  soon  as  the  tempest  in 
England  began  to  subside,  Mr.  Weed  hastened  to 


THURLOW    WEED.  345 

Paris,  with  Gen.  Winfield  Scott  as  a  fellow-passenger 
On  the  way  the  thought  occurred  to  him  that  a  bold, 
frank  letter  on  the  American  question,  signed  by  the 
General,  would  have  great  weight.  As  soon  as  they 
reached  Paris  the  letter  was  prepared  and  published 
at  once  in  all  the  leading  French  and  English  news- 
papers. 

From  Prince  Napoleon  Mr.  Weed  received  atten- 
tion. The  Prince,  differing  widely  and  boldly  from 
the  Emperor,  was  the  warm  friend  of  our  Government, 
and  sought  to  serve  us.  Mr.  Weed  was  instant  in  sea- 
son and  out  of  season  in  explaining  and  defending  the 
cause  of  his  country,  and  it  was  largely  due  to  his 
skillful  and  indefatigable  efforts  that  the  attempt  to 
unite  France  and  England  against  the  cause  of  the 
Union  failed.  He  induced  the  Emperor  to  alter  a 
paragraph  in  his  speech  to  the  French  National  Legis- 
lature in  January,  1862,  so  that  instead  of  expressing 
a  bitter  opposition  to  the  Union,  as  he  had  intended, 
he  spoke  of  it  in  a  friendly  tone.  Prince  Napoleon 
was  out  of  favor  with  "  the  nephew  of  his  uncle  "  be- 
cause of  his  pronounced  sympathy  for  the  North ; 
accordingly  Mr.  Weed  worked  upon  the  Emperor 
through  Prince  de  Morny,  his  brother. 

The  Prince  de  Morny  based  his  opposition  to  the 
Union  cause  largely,  if  not  entirely,  on  the  fact  that 


346  SELF-MADE   MEN. 

Charleston  Harbor  was  obstructed.  He  denounced 
the  obstruction  as  an  outrage  without  precedent,  which 
wrought  great  injury  to  the  commercial  interests  of 
France,  since  it  interrupted  the  exports  of  cotton  to 
that  country.  Mr.  Weed,  when  the  Prince  had  fin- 
ished his  protest,  proceeded  to  turn  the  tables  on  him 
by  quoting  from  the  treaty  of  Utrecht,  which  provided 
that  the  fortification  of  the  city  of  Dunkirk  should  be 
razed,  the  harbor  filled  up,  and  the  sluices  which 
served  to  cleanse  it  leveled,  and  this,  too,  at  the 
French  King's  expense  !  In  the  account  which  he 
subsequently  gave  of  his  coup  d'e'tat,  Mr.  Weed  wrote 
of  the  effect  of  his  reference  to  the  treaty  of  Dunkirk 
as  follows :  "  When  the  Count  had  read  the  article 
over  twice  very  attentively  I  observed  that  he  would 
find  by  referring  to  the  history  of  that  day  that  Hol- 
land, an  ally  of  England  in  the  war  which  ended  with 
this  treaty,  complained  two  years  afterward  that  its 
terms  had  not  been  complied  with,  inasmuch  as  the 
fortification  and  harbor  had  been  Uut  partially  de- 
stroyed, while  the  article  referred  to  called  for  their 
entire  demolition.  Yet  Dunkirk  at  this  day,  instead 
of  being  (what  it  would  have  been  but  for  the  treaty 
of  Utrecht)  a  large  and  prosperous  commercial  city, 
is  wholly  unused  as  a  harbor,  and  utterly  insignificant 
as  a  town.  De  Morny,  after  a  pause,  remarked  that 


THURLOW    WEED.  347 

j 

he  was  to  accompany  the  Minister  of  Foreign  Affairs 
(M.  Thouvenel)  to  the  Tuileries  on  the  following 
evening,  when  the  Emperor's  speech  would  be  read  to 
them.  .  .  .  When  the  Emperor's  speech  was 
printed  the  passage  relating  to  America  was  an  amica- 
ble instead  of  a  hostile  one."  The  value  of  the  ser- 
vices to  the  Union  cause  which  Mr.  Weed  rendered 
in  this  connection  can  not  be  too  highly  estimated. 

On  his  return  from  Europe  in  1862  the  gratitude 
of  New  York  for  what  he  had  done  for  his  country 
took  the  shape  of  a  formal  presentation  to  him  of  the 
freedom  of  the  city,  and  several  of  his  more  intimate 
friends  united  in  presenting  him  with  a  costly  memo- 
rial in  silver,  which  is  one  of  the  most  precious  heir- 
looms in  the  family. 

In  January,  1863,  Mr.  Weed  dissolved  his  connec- 
tion with  the  Albany  Journal,  both  as  editor  and  pro- 
prietor. In  his  valedictory,  which  appears  in  the  is- 
sue for  January  28,  he  frankly  stated  the  reason  which 
induced  him  to  take  the  step.  "  We  have  fallen  in 
evil  times,"  he  said.  "  Our  country  is  in  immediate 
and  imminent  danger.  I  differ  widely  with  my  party 
about  the  best  means  of  crushing  the  Rebellion.  The 
difference  is  radical  and  irreconcilable.  I  can  neither 
impress  others  with  my  views  nor  surrender  my  own 
solemn  convictions.  The  alternative  of  living  in 


348  SELF-MADE   MEN. 

strife  with  those  whom  I  have  esteemed  or  withdraw- 
ing is  presented.  I  have  not  hesitated  in  choosing  the 
path  of  peace  as  the  path  of  duty.  If  those  who  dif- 
fer from  me  are  right,  and  the  country  is  safely  carried 
through  its  present  struggle,  all  will  be  well  and  no- 
body hurt.  .  .  .  But  for  an  infirm  leg  and  a 
broken  arm,  I  would  go  into  the  army,  for  the  country 
is  entitled  to  the  service  of  all  its  citizens ;  and  it  is 
more  a  privilege  than  a  duty  to  defend  a  Government 
under  whose  beneficent  sway  and  benign  rule  we  have 
enjoyed  protection,  prosperity  and  happiness,  and  in 
the  destruction  of  which  the  best  hopes  of  the  highest 
civilization  perish." 

Since  the  close  of  the  war  Mr.  Weed  has  lived  in 
retirement  in  New  York,  but  has  maintained  a  lively 
interest  in  all  public  questions,  and  has  frequently  fa- 
vored the  metropolitan  press  with  his  views  on  the 
topics  of  the  day,  and  with  reminiscenses.  In  1872 
he  returned  to  active  politics  for  a  brief  time,  and 
showed  that  his  name  had  not  lost  its  old-time  cun- 
ning by  springing  the  name  of  Gen.  John  A.  Dix  on 
the  Republican  State  Convention  and  securing  his 
nomination  for  Governor  by  a  skillfully  planned  stam- 
pede. The  wisdom  of  his  selection  was  demonstrated 
by  the  triumphant  election  of  the  whole  Republican 
ticket.  On  March  22,  1880,  he  once  more  assumed 


THURLOW    WEED. 


349 


the  editorship  of  the  Journal— ion:  one  day — on  the 
occasion  of  the  celebration  of  the  fiftieth  anniversary 
of  its  foundation.  He  leaves  three  daughters,  Mrs. 
William  Barnes,  of  Albany,  N.  Y.;  Mrs.  James  Alden, 
of  Morrisania,  N.  Y.;  and  Miss  Harriet  Weed,  who 
has  been  his  constant  companion  since  the  death  of 
his  wife,  about  thirty  years  ago.  He  leaves  an  estate 
estimated  at  over  one  million  of  dollars. 


ULES  FOR 


EHAVIOR. 


RULES  FOR  BEHAVIOR. 


ETIQUETTE. 

^TIQUETTE  is,  in  point  of  fact,  nothing  more 
nor  less  than  the  law,  written  and  unwritten, 
which  regulates  the  society  of  civilized  people, 
distinguishing  them  from  the  communities  of  barbar- 
ous tribes,  whose  lives  are  hard  and  their  manners 
still  harder.  It  is  to  a  well  disciplined  and  refined 
mind  the  fundamental  principle  of  action  in  all  inter- 
course with  society,  and  they  are  interested  in  main- 
taining it  in  its  integrity,  and  bound  to  heed  and  obey 
its  simplest  as  well  as  more  formal  precepts. 

Etiquette,  like  every  other  human  institution,  is  of 
course  liable  to  abuse;  it  may  be  transformed  from  a 
convenient  and  wholesome  means  of  producing  uni- 
versal comfort  into  an  inconvenient  and  burdensome 
restraint  upon  freedom  and  ease. 


354  RULES  FOR  BEHAVIOR. 

Etiquette,  to  be  perfect,  must  be  like  a  perfectly 
fitting  garment,  which,  beautifying  and  adorning  the 
person,  mast  yet  never  cramp  or  restrain  perfect  free- 
dom of  movement. 

Most  people  have  heard  of  the  gentleman  (?)  who 
was  perfect  in  his  knowledge  of  the  laws  of  etiquette, 
and  who,  seeing  a  man  drowning,  took  off  his  coat  and 
was  about  to  plunge  into  the  water  to  rescue  him, 
when  he  suddenly  remembered  that  he  had  never  been 
introduced  to  the  struggling  victim,  and  resuming  his 
coat,  tranquilly  proceeded  upon  his  way.  Too  rigid 
an  observance  of  the  laws  of  etiquette  makes  them  an 
absurdity  and  a  nuisance. 

Good  breeding  is,  as  Lord  Chesterfield  well  says, 
"  the  result  of  much  good  sense,  some  good  nature, 
and  a  little  self-denial  for  the  sake  of  others,  and  with 
a  view  to  obtain  the  same  indulgence  from  them." 

Lord  Bacon,  in  his  admirable  essay  on  Ceremonies, 
says:  "  Not  to  use  ceremonies  at  all,  is  to  teach  others 
not  to  use  them  again,  and  so  diminisheth  respect  to 
himself;  especially  they  be  not  to  be  omitted  to 
strangers  and  formal  natures;  but  the  dwelling  upon 
them,  and  exalting  them  above  the  moon  is  not  only 
tedious,  but  doth  diminish  the  faith  and  credit  of  him 
that  speaks. 

To  quote  again   from    Lord   Chesterfield,  "  Good 


ETIQUETTE.  355 

sense  and  good  nature  suggest  civility  in  general;  bui 
in  good  breeding  there  are  a  thousand  little  delicacies 
which  are  established  only  by  custom." 

It  is  precisely  these  "  little  delicacies  "  which  con- 
stitute the  difference  between  politeness  and  etiquette, 
politeness  is  that  inborn  regard  for  others  which  may 
C*welL  in  the  heart  of  the  most  ignorant  boor,  but 
etiquette  is  a  code  of  outward  laws  which  must  be 
learned  by  the  resident  in  good  society,  either  from 
observation  or  the  instruction  of  others. 

It  is  a  poor  argument  used  against  etiquette  that  it 
is  not  truthful,  and  that  uncouth  manners  are  more 
frank  and  sincere  than  polished  and  refined  ones.  Is 
truth  then  a  hedgehog,  always  bristling  and  offensive. 
Cannot  truth  be  spoken  in  courteous  accents  from  a 
kind,  gentle  impulse,  as  well  as  blurted  out  rudely  and 
giving  pain  and  mortification  ?  It  is  true  that  rough- 
ness and  sincerity  often  abide  together,  but  would  it 
destroy  the  honesty  to  polish  away  the  roughness  ? 

True  politeness  must  come  from  the  heart,  from  an 
unselfish  desire  to  please  others  and  contribute  to 
their  happiness;  when  upon  this  natural  impulse  is 
placed  the  polish  of  a  complete  and  thorough  knowl- 
edge of  the  laws  of  etiquette,  the  manners  must  be 
perfect  and  graceful. 

An  English  author  says:  "  Etiquette  may  be  defined 


356  RULES  FOR  BEHAVIOR. 

as  the  minor  morality  of  life.  No  observances,  how- 
ever minute,  that  tend  to  spare  the  feelings  of  others, 
can  be  classed  under  the  head  of  trivialities;  and 
politeness,  which  is  but  another  name  for  general 
amiability,  will  oil  the  creaking  wheels  of  life  more 
effectually  than  any  of  those  unguents  supplied  by 
mere  wealth  or  station." 

"  To  be  truly  polite,  one  must  be  at  once  good,  just 
and  generous,"  has  been  well  said  by  a  modern 
French  writer. 

"  True  politeness  is  the  outward  visible  sign  of  those 
inward  spiritual  graces  called  modesty,  unselfishness, 
generosity.  The  manners  of  a  gentleman  are  the 
index  of  his  soul.  His  speech  is  innocent,  because 
his  life  is  pure;  his  thoughts  are  direct,  because  his 
actions  are  upright;  his  bearing  is  gentle,  because  his 
blood,  and  his  impulses,  and  his  training  are  gentle 
also.  A  true  gentleman  is  entirely  free  from  every 
kind  of  pretence.  He  avoids  homage  instead  of  ex 
acting  it.  Mere  ceremonies  have  no  attraction  for 
him.  He  seeks  not  only  to  say  civil  things,  but  to  do 
them.  His  hospitality,  though  hearty  and  sincere, 
will  be  strictly  regulated  by  his  means.  His  friends 
will  be  chosen  for  their  good  qualities  and  good  man- 
ners; his  servants  for  their  thoughtfulness  and  honesty; 
his  occupations  for  their  usefulness,  or  their  graceful- 


INTRODUCTIONS.  357 

ness,  or  their  elevating  tendencies,  whether  moral,  or 
mental,  or  political.  And  so  we  come  round  again  to 
our  first  maxims,  /.  e.,  that  '  good  manners  are  the 
kindly  fruit  of  a  refined  nature.'  " 

The  most  perfect  law  of  politeness,  the  safest  and 
surest  guide  in  all  that  pertains  to  the  true  definition 
of  a  gentleman  or  lady  is,  after  all,  the  Christian  rule, 
"  Do  unto  others  as  you  would  others  should  do  unto 
you." 

No  one  with  this  for  a  guide  can  ever  fail  in  true, 
genuine  politeness,  and  that  politeness  will  soon  lead 
him  to  learn  and  remember  all  the  prevailing  rules  of 
established  etiquette. 


INTRODUCTIONS. 

MEVER  introduce  people  to  each  other  unless 
you  are  sure  the  acquaintance  so  commenced 
will  be  mutually  agreeable. 

When  introducing  two  gentlemen,  look  first  to  the 
elder,  or,  if  there  is  any  difference  in  social  standing, 
to  the  superior,  and,  with  a  slight  bow,  say  to  him: 
"  Allow  me  to  introduce  my  friend,  Mr.  Jones,  to 
you; "  then  turning  to  your  friend,  repeat  his  name, 
and  follow  it  by  that  of  the  gentleman  to  whom  he  is 
introduced,  thus:  "  Mr.  Smith,  allow  me  to  introduce 


358  RULES  FOR  BEHAVIOR. 

my  friend,  Mr.  Jones,  to  you — Mr.  Jones,  Mr.  Smith." 
In  introducing  a  gentleman  to  a  lady,  bow  slightly  to 

the  latter,  saying,  "  Miss ,  allow  me  to  introduce 

Mr. ;  Mr. (bowing  to  him),  Miss ." 

When  several  persons  are  introduced  to  one,  it  is 
sufficient  to  name  the  single  individual  once,  repeat- 
ing all  the  names  of  the  others  thus:  "  Mr.  Johnson, 
allow  me  to  introduce  Mr.  and  Mrs.  James,  Miss 
Smithson,  Mr.  Lewis,  Mr.  Johnson,"  bowing  slightly 
to  each  when  named. 

Shaking  hands  after  an  introduction  has  taken 
place  is  merely  optional,  not  necessary;  and  is  for- 
bidden to  an  unmarried  lady  to  whom  a  gentleman  is 
introduced.  A  bow  is  all  that  etiquette  requires.  In 
introducing  young  persons  to  elder  ones  of  good  social 
standing,  it  is  often  a  kindly  act  of  encouragement 
for  the  latter  to  shake  hands,  with  a  few  cordial 
words. 

Should  you,  when  walking  with  a  friend,  meet  a  lady 
who  desires  to  speak  to  you,  your  friend  must  stop 
with  you,  yet  an  introduction  under  such  circumstances 
does  not  exact  any  future  recognition. 

If  friends  meet  at  public  places  of  amusement  and 
are  accompanied  by  strangers,  introductions  are  not 
required  by  etiquette,  and  if  made  do  not  oblige  any 
future  acquaintance. 


LETTERS  OF  INTRODUCTION.  359 

If  at  a  dinner,  a  ball,  or  upon  any  occasion  you  are 
introduced,  at  a  friend's  house,  to  one  with  whom  you 
are  not  on  good  terms,  though  it  be  your  bitterest 
enemy,  etiquette  requires  you  to  salute  him  or  her 
courteously,  and  make  no  sign  of  resentment  whilst 
under  your  friend's  roof. 

To  introduce  to  a  friend  a  person  who  is  in  any 
way  objectionable,  is  an  insult  which  fully  justifies  a 
withdrawal  of  friendship. 

A  gentleman  should  always  raise  his  hat,  if  intro- 
duced in  the  street,  to  either  lady  or  gentleman. 


LETTERS  OF  INTRODUCTION. 

~lfl  TETTERS  of  introduction  should  never  be  given, 
except  to  persons  well  known  to  the  person 
introducing  them,  and  addressed  to  those 
only  who  have  a  long-standing  friendship  for  the 
writer. 

Even  amongst  friends  of  long  standing  they  should 
be  given  very  cautiously  and  sparingly,  as  it  is  a  great 
responsibility  to  send  to  your  friend  a  visitor  who  may 
prove  disagreeable,  and  you  have  no  right  whatever  to 
call  upon  comparative  strangers  to  extend  hospitality 
or  courtesy  to  your  friends. 


360  RULES  FOR  BEHAVIOR. 

Letters  of  introduction  should  always  be  as  short 
and  concise  as  possible.  If  you  wish  to  send  any  in- 
formation to  your  friends  about  their  visitor,  send  it 
in  a  separate  letter  by  mail. 

The  utmost  brevity  is  of  importance  in  the  letter  of 
introduction,  as  it  is  usually  read  in  the  presence  of 
the  party  introduced,  and  the  pause  must  necessarily 
be  awkward. 

Letters  of  introduction  must  be  left  unsealed  inva- 
riably; they  should  be  folded  and  addressed  like  any 
other  letter,  but  it  is  a  gross  breach  of  etiquette  to 
prevent  the  bearer  from  reading  what  you  may  have 
said  of  him  to  your  friend. 

A  letter  of  introduction  should  not  be  delivered  in 
person.  It  should  be  sent,  with  the  card  of  the  per- 
son introduced,  to  the  person  to  whom  it  is  addressed, 
by  a  servant.  The  person  receiving  it  should  then 
call  at  once  or  send  a  written  invitation  to  his 
house,  and  the  person  introduced  may  then  call  in 
person. 

Letters  of  introduction  soliciting  favors  should  be 
but  seldom  given,  and  never  unless  the  claims  upon 
both  parties  interested  are  very  strong. 

Letters  of  introduction  to  and  from  business  men, 
for  business  purposes,  may  be  delivered  by  the  bearers 
in  person,  and  etiquette  does  not  require  the  receiver 


SALUTES  AND  SALUTATIONS.  361 

to  entertain  the  person  introduced  as  the  private  friend 
of  the  writer. 

Letters  of  introduction  are  very  useful  to  travelers, 
or  those  about  to  change  their  place  of  residence; 
care,  however,  should  be  especially  taken  in  the  latter 
case  to  present  persons  to  each  other  only,  who  will 
prove  mutually  agreeable,  as  it  is  surely  no  friendly 
act  to  force  upon  your  friends  a  life-long  acquaintance, 
perhaps  with  uncongenial  persons. 

In  traveling  abroad  it  is  impossible  to  have  too 
many  letters  of  introduction.  They  take  up  but  little 
room  in  a  trunk,  but  their  value  when  you  find  your- 
self "  a  stranger  in  a  strange  land,"  cannot  be  over- 
estimated. 


SALUTES  AND  SALUTATIONS. 

"EN  in  this  country  acknowledge  an  introduc- 
tion by  extending  the  right  hand  in  greeting 
— the  whole  hand — for  it  is  positively  in- 
sulting to  offer  two  fingers,  as  some  under-bred  snobs 
will  sometimes  do,  and  it  is  almost  as  bad  to  extend 
the  left  hand,  unless  two  persons  are  introduced  at  the 
same  time,  or  the  right  hand  is  useless  or  occupied; 
In  any  such  case  apologize  for  the  hand  extended. 
In  offering  the  hand  to  a  friend  in  the  house,  always 


362  RULES  FOR  BEHAVIOR. 

remove  the  glove,  and  grasp  the  hand  given  in  return 
firmly  for  a  moment.  In  the  street,  however,  the  glove 
may  be  retain  ed,  if  it  would  cause  an  awkward  pause 
to  remove  it;  but  always  in  such  a  case  apologize  for 
the  covered  hand. 

In  shaking  hands,  do  not  try  to  wring  them  off  the 
wrists,  nor  press  them  as  in  a  vise,  nor  pull  them  as 
though  they  were  bell-handles,  nor  fling  the  two 
together  with  violence,  so  as  to  cause  a  report.  Let 
the  palms  grasp  each  other  firmly,  but  without  any 
display  of  energy,  and  shake  the  hand  moderately  for 
a  moment,  then  release  it. 

If  a  gentleman  meet  a  gentleman,  he  may  salute 
him  by  touching  his  hat  without  removing  it,  but  if  a 
lady  be  with  either  gentleman,  both  hats  must  be  lifted 
in  salutation. 

A  gentleman  may  bow  to  a  lady  seated  at  a  window, 
if  he  is  passing  on  the  street,  but  he  must  not  bow 
from  a  window  to  a  lady  on  the  street. 

A  gentleman  may  never  offer  to  shake  hands  with  a 
lady,  but  he  must  accept  such  an  offer  on  her  part, 
taking  her  hand  lightly  but  firmly  in  his  ungloved 
right  one,  and  delicately  shaking  it  for  a  moment. 

In  entering  a  church,  a  gentleman  must  remove  his 
hat  as  soon  as  his  foot  crosses  the  threshold  of  the 
sacred  edifice. 


SALUTES  AND  SALUTATIONS.  363 

A  gentleman  may  always  bow  to  a  lady  he  may  mee.' 
on  a  stairway,  even  if  not  acquainted.  If  at  the  foot 
of  the  stairs,  he  must  bow,  pass  her  and  ascend  before 
her.  If  at  the  head  of  the  stairs,  he  must  bow,  and 
wait  for  her  to  precede  him  in  the  descent. 

In  entering  a  room,  a  gentleman  must  take  his  hat, 
cane  and  gloves  in  his  left  hand,  leaving  his  right  hand 
free  for  salutation. 

If  a  gentleman,  walking  with  a  friend,  meets  a  lady 
with  whom  his  friend  is  acquainted,  he  must  also  bow, 
although  the  lady  may  be  a  stranger  to  him. 

A  gentleman  must  always  return  a  bow  made  to  him 

» 

in  the  street,  even  if  he  fails  to  recognize  the  person 
who  makes  it.  It  may  be  a  person  to  whom  he  has 
been  introduced,  but  whose  face  he  has  forgotten,  and 
if  it  is  an  error  on  the  part  of  the  other,  a  courteous 
return  of  the  salute  will  greatly  diminish  the  embar- 
rassment of  the  mistaken  party. 

In  meeting  a  party  of  friends,  with  some  of  whom 
you  are  intimately  acquainted,  and  with  some  only 
slightly,  endeavor  to  make  your  salutations  as  equal  as 
possible. 

In  meeting  at  a  friend's  house,  where  you  are  visit- 
ing, a  circle  who  are  all  entire  strangers  to  you,  re- 
member that  as  mutual  friends  of  the  host  and  hostess 
you  are  bound,  whilst  under  the  same  roof,  to  consider 


364  RULES  FOR  BEHAVIOR. 

yourselves  as  acquaintances.  No  spirit  of  exclusive 
ness  is  an  apology  for  a  neglect  of  this,  and  no  shy- 
ness can  excuse  a  withdrawing  into  a  corner,  01 
clinging  to  one  friend  alone  in  such  a  circle. 


CALLS. 

T  ENTLEMEN    in    society    may  make    morning 
M   inL     caHs  llP°n  all  the  following  occasions  : 

^n_jjr' 

In  answer  to  a  letter  of  introduction  sent  to 
him,  or  to  return  the  call  if  the  letter  is  personally 
presented. 

In  return  for  any  hospitality  offered  to  him  when 
visiting  another  city,  if  the  entertainer  visit  his  own 
place  of  abode. 

On  any  occasion  when  a  grief  or  a  joy  calls  for  ex- 
pressions of  condolence  or  congratulation  in  the  circle 
of  his  friends. 

To  greet  the  safe  return  of  any  friend  who  has  been 
abroad,  or  away  from  home  for  any  length  of  time. 

Following  any  occasion  when  a  lady  has  accepted 
his  services  as  an  escort,  a  gentleman  must  call  to  in- 
quire after  the  health  of  his  fair  charge,  and  must  not 
delay  longer  than  the  day  after  that  upon  which  he 
has  escorted  the  lady. 


CALLS.  365 

After  a  wedding,  at  the  time  appointed  for  the  re- 
ception of  friends. 

When  visiting  in  another  city,  upon  any  friends 
there,  or  upon  those  to  whom  letters  of  introduction 
have  been  given. 

In  asking  or  granting  a  favor,  a  call  is  demanded  by 
etiquette. 

Morning  calls  must  never  be  earlier  than  noon, 
evening  ones  never  later  than  nine  o'clock. 

A  gentleman  may  never  call  with  a  friend  upon  a 
lady,  unless  the  friend  is  previously  acquainted,  or  he 
has  obtained  permission  of  the  lady  to  introduce 
him. 

In  making  a  formal  call,  a  gentleman  must  retain 
his  hat  in  his  hand.  An  umbrella  or  cane  may  be  left 
in  the  hall,  never  the  hat  or  gloves.  If  the  call  is 
made  in  the  evening,  the  hat  and  gloves  must  be  held 
until  the  host  or  hostess  gives  an  invitation  to  lay 
them  aside  and  spend  the  evening.  Strict  etiquette 
requires  that  such  an  invitation  shall  not  be  given,  or 
if  given,  not  accepted  on  the  occasion  of  a  first  call. 

In  making  an  informal  call  in  the  evening,  a  gentle- 
man may  leave  hat,  gloves,  cane  and  overcoat  in  the 
hall. 

No  gentleman  will  prolong  a  call  if  he  finds  his 
host  or  hostess  dressed  to  go  out.  A  brief  visit  with  a 


366  RULES  FOR  BEHAVIOR. 

promise    to   repeat   it  will  place  his  entertainers  at 
ease. 

A  card  used  in  calling  must  never  have  anything 
upon  it,  but  the  name  and  address  of  the  caller. 
Nothing  can  show  a  greater  ignorance  of  the  customs 
of  society  than  to  use  a  business  card  for  a  friendly 
call.  A  physician  may  put  the  prefix  Dr.  or  the  pro- 
fessional M.  D.,  upon  his  card,  and  an  Army  or  Navy 
officer  his  rank  and  branch  of  service. 

It  is  in  bad  taste  for  a  caller  to  preface  his  or  her 
departure  by  consulting  a  watch,  remarking,  "  Now  I 
must  go,"  or  insinuating  that  the  hostess  is  weary  of 
the  visitor.  Rise  when  ready  to  go,  and  express  your 
pleasure  at  finding  your  friends  at  home,  followed  by 
a  cordially  expressed  desire  for  a  speedy  meeting 
again. 

Pelham  said  he  always  withdrew  when  he  said  some- 
thing that  produced  a  sensation,  because  he  knew  he 
must  leave  such  an  impression  as  would  make  people 
wish  to  see  him  again. 

When  other  callers  arrive,  it  is  in  bad  taste  to  rise 
at  once  as  if  driven  away.  Let  the  first  caller  watch 
for  a  favorable  opportunity  to  retire  gracefully. 

If  a  gentleman  calling  sees  a  lady  unescorted  rise 
to  go,  he  may  with  perfect  propriety  offer  to  escort 
her  to  her  carriage,  even  if  a  stranger,  but  he  must 


CALLS.  367 

return   again    to  make  his  own  farewell  bow   to  the 
hostess. 

If  strangers  are  in  the  room  when  a  caller  rises  tc 
leave,  courtesy  requires  only  a  slight  bow  in  passing. 

When  calling,  etiquette  requires  that  a  card  be  sent 
up.     It  will  show  that  you  have  called,  and  if  friends 
are   at  home,   will  prevent   any  confusion   from  mis 
pronunciation  of  your  name  by  the  servant. 

When  the  lady  of  the  house  is  not  at  home,  a  card 
must  be  left,  and  if  there  are  two  or  more  ladies,  the 
turning  down  of  one  corner  of  the  card  signifies  that 
the  call  was  intended  for  all  the  family. 

If  cards  to  be  left  preparatory  to  leaving  town,  the 
initials  p.  p.  c.  {pour  prendre  conge,*  or,  presents  part- 
ing compliments),  must  be  written  in  the  left  hand 
corner.  If  the  departure  is  a  hurried  one,  the  card 
may  be  sent  by  a  servant,  but  it  is  in  better  taste  to 
leave  it  in  person. 

Visits  of  condolence  are  made  within  a  week  after 
the  bereavement,  unless  the  deceased  be  one  of  the 
immediate  family,  when  a  fortnight  may  be  allowed  to 
intervene. 

The  first  call  of  a  stranger  must  be  returned  within 
a  week. 

Married  men  are  not  obliged  to  make  calls  of  cere- 

*  To  take  leave. 
20 


368  RULES  FOR  BEHAVIOR. 

mony  in  person.  It  is  sufficient  for  their  wives  to 
leave  their  cards  with  their  own. 

Residents  in  a  place  make  the  first  call  upon  any 
new  comers. 

It  is  not  necessary,  nor  is  it  customary  in  the  city, 
to  offer  refreshments  to  callers.  In  the  country, 
especially  if  the  visitors  have  come  from  a  distance, 
it  is  not  only  courteous,  but  often  a  positive  kindness 
to  do  so. 

If  a  stranger  come  to  stay  at  the  house  of  a  friend, 
those  who  are  in  the  habit  of  visiting  at  the  house 
should  call  as  soon  as  possible,  and  such  calls  should 
be  returned  at  the  earliest  practicable  opportunity. 

A  well-bred  person  should  endeavor  to  be  always 
prepared  for  callers.  Illness  alone,  either  your  own, 
or  that  of  some  one  requiring  your  constant  attention, 
can  only  excuse  you. 

It  is  ill-bred  to  enter  a  drawing-room,  with  a  hand- 
some carpet  upon  it,  in  muddy  boots  and  spattered 
garments,  to  stand  a  dripping  umbrella  beside  you,  or 
deposit  over-shoes  in  the  hall. 

Never  resume  your  seat  after  having  once  left  it  to 
say  adieu.  There  is  nothing  more  awkward  than  to 
take  leave  twice. 

If  you  find  yourself  intruding  upon  an  early  dinner 
hour,  do  not  prolong  your  stay. 


CALLS.  369 

It  is  a  breach  of  etiquette,  during  a  call,  to  dra  * 
»ear  to  the  fire  to  warm  your  hands  and  feet,  unless 
you  are  invited  by  the  mistress  of  the  house  to  do  S3. 
If  you  are  alone  in  the  drawing-room  for  a  time,  while 
your  visit  is  announced,  and  then  go  to  the  fire,  leav? 
your  seat  and  advance  to  meet  the  mistress  of  the 
house  as  she  enters,  and  then  take  the  seat  she  points 
out  to  you. 

In  visiting  an  invalid,  never  offer  to  go  to  the  room, 
but  wait  for  an  invitation  to  do  so. 

A  gentleman  who  is  a  confirmed  invalid,  may  receive 
the  visits  of  a  lady  friend,  but  under  no  other  cir- 
cumstances. 

It  is  a  breach  of  etiquette  to  remove  the  gloves 
when  making  a  formal  call. 

It  is  a  breach  of  etiquette  for  a  caller,  who  is  wait- 
ing the  entrance  of  the  hostess,  to  open  the  piano,  or 
to  touch  it  if  it  is  open. 

It  is  a  breach  of  etiquette  to  walk  round  the  room 
when  waiting  for  your  hostess,  examining  the  furniture 
or  pictures. 

It  is  a  breach  of  etiquette  for  a  caller  to  open  or 
shut  a  door,  raise  or  lower  a  window  curtain,  or  in 
any  way  alter  the  arrangement  of  a  room. 

It  is  a  breach  of  etiquette  to  turn  your  chair  so  as 
to  bring  your  back  to  any  one  seated  near  to  you. 


370  RULES  FOR  BEHAVIOR. 

It  is  a  breach  of  etiquette  when  making  a  call,  to 
play  with  any  ornament  in  the  room,  finger  the  fur- 
niture, or  seem  indeed  to  be  aware  of  anything  but 
the  company  present. 

i 

To  prolong  a  call  to  the  next  meal  time  is  a  posi- 
tive rudeness,  as  it  forces  your  hostess  to  invite  you  to 
the  table  whether  convenient  and  agreeable  or  not. 

In  calling  upon  friends  at  a  boarding-house  or  a 
hotel,  always  write  their  names  above  your  own  upon 
your  card,  that  it  may  be  certain  to  be  delivered  to 
the  right  person. 


CONVERSA  TION. 

'HERE  are  several  principal  rules  of  etiquette 
which  must  be  rigidly  observed  in  conversa- 
tion, the  non-observance  of  which  will  at 
once  stamp  the  guilty  party  as  ignorant  of  the  forms 
and  customs  of  polite  society. 

The  personal  pronouns  should  be  used  as  little  as 
possible  when  speaking  of  any  one,  either  present  or 
absent.  The  name  of  the  lady  or  gentleman  to  whom 
reference  is  made,  should  be  repeated  if  necessary, 
but  under  no  circumstances  should  the  words  "  she  ' 
or  "  he,"  accompanied  by  a  nod  or  jerk  of  the  thumb, 
in  the  direction  of  the  person  spoken  of,  be  employed. 


CONVERSATION.  371 

Avoid  as  utterly  hateful  the  use  of  slang  terms.  In 
a  gentleman,  such  expressions  are  too  suggestive  of 
low  company,  and  intercourse  with  the  worst  asso- 
ciates, and  in  a  lady  such  expressions  are  too  offen- 
sive to  be  tolerated  at  all  in  good  society.  Slang 
never  ornamented  conversation,  but  it  invariably 
sullies  and  degrades  it.  • 

Never  hold  your  companion,  in  a  conversation,  by 
the  button-hole. 

Do  not  interlard  your  conversation  with  scraps  of 
foreign  language.  It  is  an  affectation  of  knowledge  in 
one  direction,  and  a  sort  of  tacit  admission  of  igno- 
rance in  another;  for  it  would  seem  to  show  that  the 
speaker  was  not  well  enough  acquainted  with  his  own 
language  to  be  able  to  express  by  its  aid  that  which 
could  really  be  told  as  well,  perhaps  better,  by  it  than 
any  other. 

Quotations  are  to  be  avoided  as  much  as  possible. 
When  made,  they  should  be  exceedingly  short.  Short, 
pungent,  epigrammatic  quotations,  if  suitable  to  the 
subject  of  conversation,  may  be  occasionally  intro- 
duced, but  their  use  should  be  the  exception,  not  the 
rule. 

Dr.  Johnson  says  that  in  order  to  converse  well, 
"  there  must,  in  the  first  place,  be  knowledge — there 
must  be  materials;  in  the  second  place,  there  must  be 


372  RULES  FOR  BEHAVIOR. 

a  command  of  words;  in  the  third  place,  there  must 
be  imagination  to  place  things  in  such  views  as  they 
are  not  commonly  seen  in;  and  in  the  fourth  place, 
there  must  be  a  presence  of  mind,  and  a  resolution 
that  is  not  to  be  overcome  by  failure — this  last  is  an 
essential  requisite;  for  want  of  it  many  people  do  not 
excel  in  conversation." 

To  be  known  as  an  inveterate  teller  of  stories,  is  a 
great  injury  to  a  man  in  society.  A  short,  brilliant 
anecdote,  that  is  especially  applicable  to  the  conversa- 
tion, known  to  be  new  and  never  printed,  is  all  that  a 
well-bred  man  will  ever  permit  himself  to  inflict. 

Remarks  having,  and  intended  to  have,  a  double 
meaning — even  puns — are  utterly  to  be  deprecated. 

Political  and  religious  topics  are  not  in  good  tante 
in  general  conversation. 

To  listen  with  interest  and  attention  is  as  important 
in  polite  society  as  to  converse  well,  and  it  is  in  the 
character  of  listener  that  the  elegant  refinement  of  a 
man  accustomed  to  society  will  soonest  prove  itself. 

Avoid  as  much  as  possible  all  egotism;  in  conversa- 
tion stick  closely  to  Cardinal  Wolsey's  direction  to 
"love  thyself  last."  It  is,  to  say  the  least  of  it,  un- 
seemly for  a  man  to  be  constantly  making  himself  the 
subject  of  conversation. 

There  used  to  be  a  joke  against  Lord  Erskine,  who 


CONVERSATION.  373 

was  notably  a  talker  of  himself,  that  the  printer,  hav- 
ing to  print  a  speech  which  his  lordship  had  delivered, 
sent  word  to  say  that  "  he  was  very  sorry,  but  he  had 
no  more  '  Fs '  in  his  founts  than  would  suffice  to  set 
up  half  the  speech." 

Suitable  subjects,  for  time  and  place,  form  an  im- 
portant consideration  in  polite  conversation.     Grave 
tones  and  important  consideration  are  not  suited  for 
the  chit-chat  of  a  brief  call  or  a  social  evening,  nor  is 
small  talk  an  appropriate  introduction,  when  the  meet- 
ings are  for  the  purpose  of  discussing  serious  matters 
Let  gayety  or  gravity  rule  as  plaee  and  occasion  de 
mand. 

Gesticulations  are  in  excessively  bad  taste.  If  you 
do  not  wish  to  attract  censorious  remark,  converse 
quietly  and  without  gesture. 

Refrain  from  the  use  of  satire,  even  if  you  are 
master  of  the  art.  It  is  permissible  only  as  a  guard 
against  impertinence,  or  for  the  purpose  of  checking 
personalities,  or  troublesome  intrusions.  It  must  never 
be  employed  by  a  gentleman  against  a  lady,  though 
ladies  are  prone  to  indulge  in  the  use  of  this  wordy 
weapon.  Their  acknowledged  position  should,  in  the 
eyes  of  a  true  gentleman,  shield  them  from  all  shafts 
of  satire.  If  they,  on  the  other  hand,  choose  to  in- 
dulge in  satire,  it  is  the  part  of  a  gentleman  to  remon- 


374  RULES  FOR  BEHAVIOR. 

strata  gently,  and  if  the  invective  be  continued,  to 
withdraw. 

4 

Do  not  attempt  to  speak  with  the  mouth  full. 

Do  not,  however  much  you  may  be  pleased  with 
any  remark,  cry  out  "  Bravo  I "  clap  your  hands,  or 
permit  any  gesture,  silent  or  otherwise,  to  mark  your 
appreciation  of  it. 

If  you  are  flattered,  repel  it  by  quiet  gravity.  Re- 
frain, too,  from  expressions  of  flattery  to  others;  you 
will  surely  offend  any  hearer  who  has  delicacy  of  feel- 
ing and  refinement. 

If  an  error  in  language,  either  in  pronunciation  or 
grammar,  escapes  those  with  whom  you  are  conversing, 
never  show  that  you  notice  it. 

In  addressing  any  one  and  in  general  conversation, 
it  will  be  well  to  bear  in  mind  the  advice  of  Polonius 
to  his  son  Laertes:  "  Be  thou  familiar,  but  by  no 
means  vulgar."  In  society,  a  man  should  make  him- 
self as  agreeable  as  he  can,  doing  his  best  to  assist 
conversation,  as  well  by  talking  gracefully  and  easily, 
as  by  listening  patiently,  even  though  it  be  to  a  twice- 
told  tale. 

Do  not  whistle,  loll  about,  scratch  your  head,  or 
fidget  with  any  portion  of  your  dress  while  speaking. 
'Tis  excessively  awkward,  and  indicative  of  low-breed- 
ing 


CONVERSATION.  375 

Strictly  avoid  anything  approaching  to  absence  01 
mind.  Lord  Chesterfield  said:  "When  I  see  a  man 
absent  in  mind,  I  choose  to  be  absent  in  body."  And 
there  was  really  much  reason  in  the  remark. 

Whispering  is  atrocious,  and  cannot  be  tolerated. 
Private  affairs  must  be  delayed  for  private  interviews. 

Unless  you  are  actually  afflicted  with  deafness, 
never  ask  to  have  a  sentence  repeated. 

Never  interrupt  a  speaker.  It  is  equally  rude  to 
supply  words  over  which  your  companion  may  hesi- 
tate a  moment. 

In  general  conversation  avoid  argument.  If  obliged 
to  discuss  a  point,  do  so  with  suavity,  contradicting, 
if  necessary,  with  extreme  courtesy,  and  if  you  see  no 
prospect  of  agreement,  finishing  off  with  some  happy, 
good-natured  remark  to  prove  that  you  are  not  hurt 
or  offended. 

When  addressing  a  person,  look  in  his  or  her  face, 
not  staringly,  but  frankly,  never  fixing  your  eyes  on  the 
carpet  or  your  boots. 

Loud  -laughing  and  giggling  are  in  excessively  bad 
taste. 

Eschew  scandal,  for  "  in  scandal  as  in  robbery,  the 
receiver  is  always  thought  as  bad  as  the  thief." 
Mimicry  is  the  lowest  and  most  ill-bred  of  all  buf- 
foonery. 


376  RULES  FOR  BEHAVIOR. 

Bashfulness  is  an  inconvenient  quality,  which  a  great 
authority  has  stated  to  be  "  the  distinguishing  charactei 
of  a  booby." 

Nicknames  are  abominable,  and  are  never  allowed 
in  good  society. 

If  your  friends  become  the  subject  of  conversation, 
never  compare  one  with  another,  or  mention  the  vices 
of  one  to  add  to  the  lustre  of  virtue  of  the  other. 

Do  not  commence  any  conversation  by  the  sugges- 
tion of  painful  or  disagreeable  topics.  To  ask  a  friend 
abruptly,  "  For  whom  are  you  in  mourning  ?  "  may  be 
tearing  open  anew  a  wound  that  was  covered  for  the 
time  by  intercourse  with  society. 

Subjects  or  incidents  calculated  to  disgust  the 
hearers,  are  to  be  avoided  in  polite  conversation. 

Do  not  use  surnames  alone,  even  if  speaking  of  in- 
timate friends. 

Let  no  more  than  one  person  be  speaking  at  one 
time. 

If  you  would  preserve  a  character  for  truthfulness, 
avoid  the  too  common  fault  of  exaggeration. 

Cant  is  simply  detestable. 

The  talented  author  of  "  Good  Society"  says: 

"  The  great  secret  of  talking  well  is  to  adapt  your 
conversation  as  skilfully  as  may  be  to  your  company. 
Some  men  make  a  point  of  talking  commonplace  to 


CONVERSATION.  377 

all  ladies  alike,  as  if  a  woman  could  only  be  a  trifler. 
Others,  on  the  contrary,  seem  to  forget  in  what  respects 
the  education  of  a  lady  differs  from  that  of  a  gentle- 
man, and  commit  the  opposite  error  of  conversing  on 
topics  with  which  ladies  are  seldom  acquainted.  A 
woman  of  sense  has  as  much  right  to  be  annoyed  by 
the  one,  as  a  lady  of  ordinary  education  by  the  other. 
You  cannot  pay  a  finer  compliment  to  a  woman  of 
refinement  and  esprit,  than  by  leading  the  conversa- 
tion into  such  a  channel  as  may  mark  your  apprecia- 
tion of  her  superior  attainments. 

"  It  should  be  remembered  that  people  take  more 
interest  in  their  own  affairs  than  in  anything  else 
which  you  can  name.  In  tcte  a  tcte  conversations, 
therefore,  lead  a  mother  to  talk  of  her  children,  a 
young  lady  of  her  last  ball,  an  author  of  his  forth- 
coming book,  or  an  artist  of  his  exhibition  picture. 

"  Remember  in  conversation  that  a  voice  l  gentle 
and  low'  is,  above  all  other  extraneous  accomplish- 
ments, an  '  excellent  thing  in  woman.'  There  is  a 
certain  distinct  but  subdued  tone  of  voice  which  is 
peculiar  to  persons  only  of  the  best  breeding.  It  is 
better  to  err  by  the  use  of  too  low  than  by  too  loud  a 
tone.  Loud  laughter  is  extremely  objectionable  in 
society." 

To  invariably  commence  a  conversation  by  remarks 


378  RULES  FOR  BEHAVIOR. 

on  the  weather,  shows  a  poverty  of  ideas  that  is  truly 
pitiable. 

A  person  who  has  traveled  will  probably  be  severely 
ridiculed  if  constantly  referring  to  "  the  winter  I  spent 
in  Florence,"  or  "when  I  was  in  London." 

If  conversation  takes  a  tone  that  is  offensive  to  good 
taste,  charity  or  justice,  be  silent. 

Be  not  too  ready  to  correct  any  statement  you  may 
deem  untrue.  You  may  be  yourself  mistaken. 

When  visiting,  be  careful  that  yoa  do  not  appear  to 
undervalue  anything  around  you  by  comparing  it  with 
what  you  have  at  home. 


STREET  ETIQUETTE. 

'  )THEN  a  gentleman  recognizes  a  friend  in  the 
course  of  his  walk,  he  must  lift  his  hat 
with  the  hand  farthest  from  him.  Lifting 
the  hat  is  a  sufficient  recognition  between  gentlemen; 
but  in  meeting  a  lady,  an  old  gentleman,  or  a  clergy- 
man, it  is  necessary  to  bow  also. 

No  gentleman    may  smoke    when   walking  with    a 
lady. 

To  eat  anything,  even  confectionery,  in  the  street, 
is  a  sign  of  low  breeding. 


STREET  ETIQUETTE.  379 

If  a  gentleman  wishes  to  shake  hands  with  a  friend, 
he  must  lift  his  hat  with  the  left  hand,  leaving  the 
right  free  to  extend.  Never  must  he  give  his  left 
hand,  or  extend  a  portion  of  the  right.  The  whole 
right  hand  is  en  regie. 

If  a  gentleman  is  walking  with  a  lady,  he  should 
insist  upon  carrying  any  book,  parcel,  or  umbrella  she 
may  have  with  her. 

Swinging  the  arms  is  an  awkward  and  ill-bred 
habit. 

To  attempt  to  cross  the  street  between  the  carriages 
of  a  funeral  procession  is  rude  and  disrespectful;  and 
we  cannot  but  commend  the  foreign  custom  of  remov- 
ing the  hat,'  and  standing  in  a  respectful  attitude  until 
the  melancholy  train  has  passed. 

When  a  gentleman  is  walking  alone,  he  must  always 
turn  aside  to  give  the  upper  side  of  the  pavement  to  a 
lady,  to  any  one  carrying  a  heavy  load,  to  a  clergy- 
man, or  to  an  old  gentleman. 

Never  push  violently  through  a  crowd.     If  a  gentle- 
man or  lady  is  really  in  haste,  a  few  courteous  words 
will  open  a  passage  more  quickly  than  the  most  vigor- 
ous pushing  or  shoving. 

If  a  gentleman  and  lady  are  obliged  to  cross  a  nar- 
row walk,  plank,  or  slippery  place,  the  lady  may  go 
first,  and  the  gentleman  walk  close  behind  her,  to  aid 


380  RULES  FOR  BEHAVIOR. 

her  it  needful.  If  the  place  is  short,  then  the  gentle- 
man should  go  first,  and  then  offer  his  hand  to  assist 
the  lady  across.  If  a  gentleman  meet  a  lady  or  old 
gentleman  at  such  a  crossing,  he  may,  with  perfect 
propriety,  assist  them  in  crossing,  even  if  perfect 
strangers  to  him. 

A  gentleman  must  hold  his  hat  in  his  hand  if  he 
stops  to  inquire  his  own  way,  or  to  direct  another. 

If  a  gentleman  sees  a  lady  alone  hesitating  at  a  bad 
crossing,  or  leaving  a  carriage  at  an  awkward  place, 
he  may  offer  his  hand  to  assist  her  in  crossing  01 
alighting,  raise  his  hat,  bow,  and  pass  on.  A  lady  may, 
with  perfect  propriety,  accept  such  assistance  from  a 
stranger,  thanking  him,  and  returning  his  bow. 

If  a  lady  leaves  an  omnibus  or  car  alone,  the  gentle- 
man nearest  the  door  should  alight,  assist  her  out,  and 
enter  the  omnibus  again. 

Gentlemen  should  always  pass  up  the  fare  of  ladies 
in  an  omnibus. 

In  a  public  conveyance,  a  gentleman  should  offer 
his  seat  to  any  lady  who  is  standing. 

Loud  talking  and  laughing  in  the  street  are  sure 
signs  of  vulgarity. 

Never  look  back  after  any  one  passing  it  is  ex- 
tremely ill-bred. 

Staring  is  a  mark  of  low  breeding. 


STREET  ETIQUETTE.  381 

Whispering  in  a  public  conveyance  is  excessively 
rnde. 

Never  call  out  loudly  to  an  acquaintance  who  may 
be  passing. 

Young  persons,  meeting  elderly  friends  in  the  street, 
should  wait  for  a  recognition  before  speaking,  and 
then  bow  respectfully.  To  nod  carelessly  at  an  old 
person  is  rude,  if  not  actually  insulting. 

If  you  meet  two  gentlemen  in  the  street,  and  wish 
to  speak  to  one  of  them,  apologize  to  the  other,  and 
make  the  detention  as  brief  as  possible. 

A  gentleman  walking  with  a  lady,  should  endeavor 
to  accommodate  his  steps  to  hers,  not  force  her  to 
Stride  along  or  trot  with  short  steps  for  his  long  ones. 

Lounging  over  a  counter  is  ill-bred. 

Putting  your  elbows  on  a  counter  is  rude. 

Pushing  aside  another  person  is  an  act  of  ill-breed- 
ing. 

A  gentleman  walking  with  two  ladies  may  offer  an 
arm  to  each  of  them,  and  they  may  thus  sandwich 
him  if  they  wish. 

If  a  gentleman  is  walking  with  two  ladies  in  a  rain- 
storm, and  there  is  but  one  umbrella,  he  should  give 
it  to  his  companions  and  walk  outside.  Nothing  can 
be  more  absurd  than  to  see  a  gentleman  walking 
between  two  ladies  holding  an  umbrella,  which 


382  RULES  FOR  BEHAVIOR. 

perfectly  protects  himself,  and  sends  little  streams  of 
water  from  .every  point  on  the  dresses  of  the  ladies 
he  is  supposed  to  be  sheltering. 

It  is  in  bad  taste  to  talk  of  personal  matters  in  the 
street,  or  to  call  loudly  the  names  of  persons  you  may 
mention.  It  is  impossible  to  say  who  may  be  near  to 
you.  To  discuss  friends  by  name  in  a  public  convey- 
ance of  any  kind  is  rude  in  the  extreme. 

If  you  meet  a  friend  with  whom  you  wish  to  shake 
hands,  never  put  out  your  own  until  you  are  quite 
near,  as  nothing  looks  more  awkward  than  hands  ex- 
tended to  grasp  each  other  two  or  three  yards  apart. 

Never  turn  a  corner  at  full  speed,  or  you  may  find 
yourself  knocked  down  or  knocking  down  another  by 
the  violent  contact. 

Never  talk  politics  or  religion  in  a  public  con- 
veyance. 

Never  stop  to  quarrel  with  a  hack-driver.  Pay  his 
fare  and  dismiss  him;  if  you  have  any  complaint  to 
make,  take  his  number,  and  make  it  to  the  proper 
authorities.  To  keep  a  lady  standing  while  you  are 
disputing  with  a  hack-man  is  extremely  rude. 

It  is  a  sign  of  ill-breeding  to  change  your  seat  in  a 
car  or  omnibus.  If  you  are  unfortunate  enough  to 
have  a  neighbor  who  is  positively  annoying  and  un- 
endurable, it  is  better  to  get  out  and  take  the  next 


TRAVELING.  383 

conveyance  than  to  move  to  the  other  side.  A  gen- 
tleman may  move  from  a  crowded  side  to  one  left 
comparatively  vacant. 


TEA  VELING. 

jt  yHERE  are  many  little  points  of  etiquette  and 
(  ^  courteous  observances  which,  if  attended  to, 
serve  very  materially  to  lighten  the  tedium 
and  fatigue  of  travel,  the  non-observance  of  them 
being  attended  with  proportionally  disagreeable  effects. 
No  situation  can  be  named  where  the  difference  be- 
tween the  well-bred  and  ill-bred  of  either  sex  is  more 
marked  than  when  they  are  upon  a  journey;  and  in 
this  country,  where  all  classes  are  thrown  into  contact 
in  the  various  public  conveyances,  the  annoyance  of 
rude  company  can  scarcely  be  exaggerated. 

A  gentleman,  on  entering  a  public  carriage  or  omni- 
bus, must  never  step  before  a  lady,  but  stand  aside 
until  she  enters,  raising  the  hat  slightly  if  she  acknowl- 
edges his  courtesy,  as  a  true  lady  will,  by  a  bow.  He 
may  offer  to  assist  her  if  she  appears  to  need  it,  even 
if  she  is  a  perfect  stranger  to  him. 

If  a  gentleman  consents  to  act  as  escort  to  a  lady, 
he  must  carefully  fulfill  all  the  requirements  of  that 
rather  arduous  position.  If  she  meets  him  at  a  wharf 

21 


384  RULES  FOR  BEHAVIOR. 

or  depot,  he  must  be  a  little  before  the  hour  for  start- 
ing, to  procure  her  ticket,  check  her  baggage,  and  se- 
cure for  her  a  pleasant  seat.  He  must  never  leave  her 
to  stand  in  an  office  or  upon  a  wharf  whilst  he  attends 
to  her  tickets  and  baggage;  but,  having  seen  her  com- 
fortably seated  in  a  ladies'  room  or  cabin,  return  for 
those  duties.  In  arriving  at  a  station,  he  must  see  her 
seated  in  a  hack  before  he  attends  to  the  trunks. 

In  a  hotel,  the  gentleman  must  escort  the  lady  to  the 
parlor  before  securing  her  room,  but  not  detain  her 
afterwards.  However  agreeable  she  may  be,  he  may 
be  certain  she  is  longing  to  rest  after  her  journey,  and 
remove  the  travel  stains  from  her  face  and  dress.  He 
must  at  once  escort  her  to  her  room,  ascertain  what 
hour  it  will  be  agreeable  for  her  to  take  the  next  meal, 
and  meet  her  again  in  the  parlor  at  that  hour. 

"  Comparisons  are  odious,"  and  to  be  continually 
asserting  that  everything  in  the  United  States  is  vastly 
superior  to  everything  abroad  is  a  mark  of  vulgarity. 
If  you  really  think  there  is  nothing  to  be  seen  abroad 
as  good  as  you  have  at  home,  why,  you  are  foolish 
not  to  stay  at  home  and  enjoy  the  best. 

If  a  train  stop  for  refreshments,  a  gentleman  may, 
with  perfect  propriety,  offer  to  escort  a  strange  lady, 
who  is  alone,  to  the  refreshment-room,  or  to  bring  to 
her  any  refreshments  she  may  desire.  If  she  accepts 


ETIQUETTE  IN  CHURCH.  385 

his  offer,  he  must  see  that  she  is  served  with  all  that 
she  desires  before  attending  to  his  own  wants. 

Smoking  in  the  presence  of  ladies  is  uncourteous, 
even  if  there  is  no  law  against  it  in  the  car,  stage,  or 
boat. 

As  regards  the  right  to  have  the  window  up  or  down, 
the  person  who  sits  facing  the  engine  has  the  com- 
mand. Ladies,  being  present,  should,  of  course,  be 
consulted,  no  matter  on  which  side  they  may  be  sit- 
ting, and  their  wish  must  be  considered  a  final  settle- 
ment of  the  question. 

A  gentleman  who  is  traveling  alone  may  offer  little 
courtesies  to  strangers,  and  even  to  ladies,  carefully 
maintaining  a  respectful  manner,  that  may  assure  them 
they  need  not  fear  to  encourage  impertinence  by 
accepting  the  preferred  civilities. 


ETIQUETTE  IN  CHURCH. 

tN  visiting  a  church  in  which  you  have  no  pew  of 


your  own,  wait  in  the  vestibule  until  the  sexton 


comes  to  you,  and  request  him  to  show  you  to 
a  seat.  It  is  extremely  rude  to  enter  a  pew  without 
invitation  if  it  is  partially  filled,  or  without  permission 
if  it  is  empty. 


386  RULES  FOR  BEHAVIOR. 

Always  enter  a  church  slowly  and  reverentially.  A 
gentleman  must  remove  his  hat  at  the  door,  and  never 
replace  it  until  he  is  again  in  the  vestibule. 

Conform  strictly  to  the  forms  of  worship.  If  you 
are  not  familiar  with  them,  rise,  kneel,  and  sit  as  you 
see  others  do. 

Never  whisper  to  a  companion  in  church. 

Never  bow  to  any  friend  while  in  the  church  itself. 
Greetings  may  be  exchanged  in  the  vestibule  after 
service. 

Gentlemen  must  pass  up  the  aisle  beside  their  lady 
companions  until  they  reach  the  pew,  then  advance  a 
few  steps,  open  the  door,  and  stand  aside  until  she  has 
entered,  then  enter,  and  close  the  door  again. 

Never  pay  any  attention  to  those  around  you,  even 
if  they  are  noisy  or  rude. 

If  you  pass  a  book  or  a  fan  to  a  person  in  the  same 
pew,  or  accept  the  same  attention,  it  is  not  necessary 
to  speak.  A  silent  bow  is  all  that  etiquette  requires. 

If  you  have  room  in  your  own  pew,  and  see  a 
stranger  enter,  open  the  door  and  motion  him  to 
enter. 

You  may  find  the  place  and  point  it  out  to  a 
stranger,  who  is  unfamiliar  with  the  service ;  but  do  so 
silently. 

To   come  late  to  church  is   not   only   ill-bred,  but 


ETIQUETTE  FOR  PLACES  OF  AMUSEMENT.      387 

disrespectful.  It  is  equally  so  to  hurry  away,  or  to 
commence  preparations  for  departure,  closing  and 
putting  away  the  books,  and  such  preparations,  before 
the  service  closes. 

Never  keep  any  one  waiting  if  you  are  invited  or 
have  invited  them  to  go  to  church. 

It  is  ill-bred  for  gentlemen  to  congregate  in  the 
vestibule  of  a  church  and  there  chat  familiarly,  often 
commenting  audibly  upon  the  service  or  the  con- 
gregation. 

To  show  any  disrespect  to  a  form  of  worship  that 
may  be  new  or  strange  to  you  is  rude  in  the  extreme. 
To  sneer  at  a  form,  while  in  the  church  using  that 
form,  is  insulting  and  low  bred. 


ETIQUETTE  FOR  PLACES  OF  AMUSE- 
MENT. 

GENTLEMAN  who  wishes  to  invite  a  young 
lady,  who  is  not  related  to  him,  to  visit  any 
place  of  public  amusement  with  him,  must, 
the  first  time  that  he  invites  her,  also  invite  another 
lady  of  the  same  family  to  accompany  her. 

It  is  a  gentleman's  duty  to  invite  a  lady  long  enough 
before  the  evening  of  the  performance  to  be  certain 


388  RULES  FOR  BEHAVIOR. 

of  securing  pleasant  seats,  as  it  is  but  a  poor  compli- 
ment to  take  her  where  she  will  be  uncomfortable,  or 
where  she  can  neither  hear  nor  see. 

Never  assume  an  air  of  secrecy  or  mystery  in  a 
public  place;  and  even  if  you  have  the  right  to  do  so, 
assume  no  lover-like  airs.  It  is  rude  to  converse 
loudly,  especially  during  the  performance;  but  a  low 
tone  is  all  that  is  necessary;  not  a  whisper. 

To  appear  to  comment  aside  upon  those  near  you  is 
extremely  ill-bred. 

It  is  ill-bred  to  arrive  late  at  any  public  entertain- 
ment, and  looks  as  if  you  were  not  sufficiently  master 
of  your  own  time  to  be  punctual. 

In  a  theater,  give  your  attention  entirely  to  the  stage 
when  the  curtain  is  up;  to  your  companion  when  it  is 
down. 

If  you  speak  to  your  companion  during  the  perform- 
ance, do  so  in  a  low  tone,  that  you  may  not  disturb 
those  who  are  near  you,  and  wish  to  hear  the  actors. 

In  entering  a  concert-room  or  the  box  of  a  theater, 
a  gentleman  should  precede  a  lady,  if  there  is  not 
room  to  walk  beside  her,  until  they  reach  the  seats, 
then  hand  her  to  the  inner  one,  taking  the  outside  one 
himself.  In  going  out,  if  he  cannot  offer  her  his  arm, 
he  must  again  walk  before  her,  until  he  reaches  the 
lobby,  and  then  offer  her  his  arm. 


TABLE  ETIQUETTE.  389 

• 

Boisterous  applause  and  loud  laughter  are  un- 
gi»ntlemanly. 

It  is  bad  taste  to  distract  your  companion's  interest 
from  the  performance,  even  if  you  find  it  dull  yourself. 

No  gentleman  should  leave  a  lady  alone  for  a  mo- 
ment in  a  public  place  of  amusement. 

In  a  picture-gallery,  never  stand  conversing  before 
the  paintings  in  such  a  way  as  to  interrupt  the  view  of 
others.  If  you  wish  to  converse,  stand  aside  or  take 
seats  and  do  so. 

It  is  an  act  of  rudeness  to  join  any  party  about  to 
visit  a  place  of  amusement,  or  at  one,  unless  urgently 
invited,  and  no  one  of  taste  will  ever  form  a  third. 

Always  enter  a  concert-hall  or  lecture-room  as 
quietly  as  possible. 

Never  push  violently  through  a  crowd  at  a  public 
place. 


TABLE  ETIQUETTE. 

"T  is  impossible  for  a  gentleman  to  act  with  per- 
fect ease  and  graceful  manner  at  table  when  in 
company,  at  a  hotel  or  any  public  place,  unless 
he  habitually  pay  attention  to  those  minor  points  of 
etiquette,  which  form  so  distinctive  a  mark  of  per- 
fectly good  breeding. 


390  RULES  FOR  BEHAVIOR, 

Even  when  a  person  habitually  eats  alone,  it  is  bet- 
ter to  do  so  gracefully  and  with  attention  to  the  rules 
of  etiquette,  that  habits  of  awkwardness  may  not  be 
formed  which  it  will  be  difficult  to  shake  off  when  in 
company. 

To  make  noises  when  eating,  sucking  soup  with  a 
gurgling  sound,  chewing  meat  noisily,  swallowing  as  if 
with  an  effort,  smacking  the  lips,  or  breathing  heavily 
while  masticating  food,  are  all  marks  of  low  breed- 
ing. 

It  is  a  bad  habit  to  put  large  pieces  of  food  into  the 
mouth.  If  you  are  addressed  suddenly  with  your 
mouth  so  filled,  you  are  obliged  to  make  an  awkward 
pause  before  answering,  or  to  run  the  risk  of  choking 
by  swallowing  the  great  mouthful  too  hastily. 

Sit  neither  very  near  nor  very  far  from  the  table* 

To  lean  back  in  the  chair  is  rude,  and  surely  no 
gentleman  would  ever  be  guilty  of  tipping  his  chair  at 
table.  Sit  erect,  not  stiffly,  but  in  an  easy  position. 

Bread  must  always  be  broken,  never  cut,  and  cer- 
tainly never  bitten. 

To  eat  very  fast  is  inelegant;  to  eat  very  slowly 
bears  an  air  of  affectation. 

A  gentleman  will  always  see  that  ladies  are  served 
before  eating  himself. 

It  is  against  all  rules  of  etiquette  to  soak  up  gravy 


TABLE  ETIQUETTE.  391 

with  bread,  to  scrape  up  sauce  with  a  spoon,  or  to 
take  up  bones  with  the  fingers. 

Never  cross  the  knife  and  fork  on  a  plate  until  you 
have  finished  eating. 

Never  hold  your  knife  and  fork  erect  in  your  hands 
at  each  side  of  your  plate,  when  conversing  at  the 
table. 

To  blow  soup  to  cool  it,  or  to  pour  tea  or  coffee 
into  a  saucer  for  the  same  purpose,  are  acts  of  awkward- 
ness never  seen  in  polite  society.  Wait  until  they  are 
cool  enough  to  be  pleasant. 

Use  the  salt-spoon,  butter-knife,  and  sugar-tongs 
even  when  you  are  alone. 

If  you  want  to  cough,  sneeze,  or  blow  your  nose, 
leave  the  table.  If  you  have  not  time,  turn  away  your 
head,  and  lean  back  in  your  chair. 

To  pass  a  plate  with  a  knife  or  fork  upon  it,  or  a  cup 
with  a  spoon  in  it,  are  acts  of  rudeness.  Put  your 
spoon  in  the  saucer,  and  your  knife  and  fork  on  the 
table,  until  you  are  served. 

Never  hurry  away  from  the  table  as  soon  as  you 
finish  eating,  if  others  remain  to  converse.  If  you  are 
obliged  to  leave  before  a  meal  is  finished  or  imme- 
diately after,  ask  to  be  excused  for  so  doing,  and 
apologize  for  the  necessity. 

At  home,  if  you  use  a  napkin-ring,  fold  your  napkin 


392  RULES  FOR  BEHAVIOR. 

and  replace  it  in  the  ring  when  you  have  done  with  it. 
If  you  are  dining  out,  never  fold  your  napkin,  but 
place  it  beside  your  plate. 

None  but  a  clown  would  use  the  table-cloth  for  a 
napkin,  pick  his  teeth  with  his  fork,  put  his  fingers  in 
his  plate,  or  wipe  his  face  with  his  napkin. 

If  you  are  unfortunate  enough  to  find  anything  dis- 
gusting in  your  food — a  hair  in  the  soup,  a  coal  in  the 
bread,  a  worm  in  the  fruit,  or  a  fly  in  your  coffee — do 
not  loudly  exclaim,  or  disturb  the  appetite  of  others 
by  mention  of  your  mishap.  Remove  the  disgusting 
object  quietly,  oa  change  your  cup  or  plate  without 
remark. 


TEE  GENTLEMAN'S  TOILET. 


first  requisite  of  a  gentleman's  toilet  is  un- 
doubtedly the  bath,  which  should  be  as  brac- 
ing as  the  constitution  will  allow,  and  used 
morning  and  evening  in  summer,  and  every  day  in 
winter.  Only  physiques  of  finest  quality  can  endure, 
much  more  benefit  by,  a  cold-water  shock  all  the  year 
round  ;  and  though  physique  is  always  improvable, 
great  reformation  must  not  be  attempted  rashly.  Let 
the  bath  of  from  sixty  to  seventy  degrees  be  freely 
indulged  in  by  the  strong,  and  even  by  the  less  robust, 


THE  GENTLEMAN'S  TOILET.  393 

in  summer  time  ;  but  in  winter  a  temperature  varying 
from  eighty-five  to  ninety-five  degrees  is  the  safest. 
The  flesh-brush  should  be  vigorously  applied  to  all 
parts  of  the  body,  after  which  the  skin  must  be  care- 
fully dried  with  Turkish  or  huck-a-back  towels. 

The  next  thing  to  be  done  is  to  clean  the  teeth. 
This  should  be  done  with  a  good  hard  tooth-brush  at 
least  twice  a  day.  Smokers  should  rinse  the  mouth 
immediately  after  smoking,  and  should  be  careful  to 
keep  the  teeth  scrupulously  clean.  The  nails  should 
also  be  kept  exquisitely  clean  and  short  Long  nails 
are  an  abomination. 

Our  advice  to  those  who  shave  is,  like  Punch's 
advice  to  those  about  to  marry — "  Don't."  But  it 
must  by  no  means  be  understood  that  suffering  the 
beard  to  grow  is  a  process  that  obviates  all  trouble. 
The  beard  should  be  carefully  and  frequently  washed, 
well  trimmed,  and  well  combed,  and  the  hair  and 
whiskers  kept  scrupulously  clean  by  the  help  of  clean, 
stiff  hair-brushes,  and  soap  and  warm  water.  The 
style  of  the  beard  should  be  adapted  to  the  form  of 
the  face;  but  any  affectation  in  the  cut  of  the  beard 
and  whiskers  is  very  objectionable,  and  augurs  unmiti- 
gated vanity  in  the  wearer.  Long  hair  is  never  in- 
dulged in  except  by  painters  and  fiddlers. 

Beau  Brummell  spent  two  hours  in  dressing;  but  a 


394  RULES  FOR  BEHAVIOR. 

gentleman  can  perform  all  the  duties  of  his  toilet  to 
perfection  in  less  than  half  that  time. 

A  gentleman  should  always  be  so  well  dressed  that 
his  dress  shall  never  be  remarked  at  all.  Does  this 
sound  like  an  enigma  ?  It  is  not  meant  for  one.  It 
only  implies  that  perfect  simplicity  is  perfect  elegance, 
and  that  the  true  test  of  dress  in  the  toilet  of  a  gentle- 
man is  its  entire  harmony,  unobtrusiveness,  and  be- 
comingness. 

A  man  whose  dress  is  appropriate,  neat  and  clean, 
will  always  look  like  a  gentleman;  but  to  dress  appro- 
priately, one  must  have  a  varied  wardrobe.  This 
should  not,  on  the  average,  cost  more  than  a  tenth 
part  of  his  income.  No  man  can  afford  more  than  a 
tenth  of  his  income  for  dress. 

The  author  of  "  Pelham  "  has  aptly  said  that  "  a 
gentleman's  coat  shonld  not  fit  too  well."  To  be  fit- 
ted too  well  is  to  look  like  a  tailor's  dummy. 

For  evening  parties,  dinner  parties  and  balls,  wear 
a  black  dress  coat,  black  trousers,  black  silk  or  cloth 
vest,  thin  patent-leather  boots,  a  white  cravat,  and 
white  kid  gloves.  Abjure  all  fopperies,  such  as  white 
silk  linings,  silk  collars,  etc.;  above  all,  the  shirt-front 
should  be  plain.  At  small,  unceremonious  parties, 
gloves  are  not  necessary;  but,  when  worn,  they  should 
be  new  and  fit  well.  A  man's  jewelry  should  be  of 


THE  GENTLEMAN'S  TOILET.  395 

the  best  and  simplest  description.  False  jewelry,  like 
every  other  form  of  falsehood  and  pretence,  is  un- 
mitigated vulgarity. 

Elaborate  studs  and  sleeve-links  are  all  foppish  and 
vulgar.  A  set  of  good  studs,  a  gold  watch  and  guard, 
and  one  handsome  ring,  are  as  many  ornaments  as  a 
gentleman  can  wear  with  propriety. 

Lastly,  a  man's  jewelry  should  always  have  some 
use,  and  not  like  a  lady's,  be  worn  for  ornament  only. 

Colored  shirts  may  be  worn  in  the  morning;  but 
they  should  be  small  in  pattern  and  quiet  in  color. 
Fancy  cloths  of  conspicuous  patterns  are  exceedingly 
objectionable.  The  hat  should  always  be  black;  and 
caps  and  straw  hats  are  only  admissible  in  summer. 

A  man's  clothes  should  always  be  well  brushed,  and 
never  threadbare  or  shabby.  No  gentleman  can  afford 
to  wear  shabby  clothes. 

For  the  country,  or  the  foreign  tour,  a  gentleman 
will  select  a  costume  of  some  light  woolen  material, 
flannel  shirts,  thick  boots,  and  everything  to  corre- 
spond. 

There  are  three  things  one  should  consult  in  the 
matter  of  dress  if  one  would  always  appear  like  a 
gentleman — viz.,  expense,  comfort,  and  society.  If 
there  is  one  thing  in  this  world  about  which  we  can 
entertain  any  degree  of  moral  certainty,  it  is  that  we 


396  RULES  FOR  u*,HAVIOR- 

must  pay  our  tailor's  bills.  If,  therefore,  our  means 
are  disproportionate  to  our  wants,  we  must  remember 
the  old  proverb,  "  Cut  your  coat  according  to  your 
cloth,"  and  dress  as  well  as  you  possibly  can  upon 
little  money. 


MISCELLANEOUS. 

GENTLEMAN  must  always  hand  a  lady  a, 
chair,  open  the  door  for  her  to  pass  in  or 
out,  remove  anything  that  maybe  in  her  way, 
and  pick  up  anything  she  may  drop,  even  if  she  is  an 
entire  stranger  to  him. 

A  gentleman  will  never  look  over  the  shoulder  of 
another  who  is  either  reading  or  writing. 

No  gentleman  will  ever  be  guilty  of  personality  in 
conversation.  No  wit,  however  keen;  no  sarcasm, 
however  humorous,  can  make  personal  remarks  any- 
thing but  rude  and  vulgar. 

A  gentleman,  in  passing  a  lady  where  he  must  stand 
aside  to  give  her  space,  must  always  remove  his  hat, 
and  incline  his  head  slightly. 

It  is  a  mark  of  low  breeding  to  fidget  either  with  the 
hands  or  feet;  to  play  with  the  watch-chain,  toss  the 
gloves,  suck  the  head  of  a  cane  or  handle  of  a  para- 
sol, or  to  fuss  with  a  collar  or  necktie. 


MISCELLANEOUS.  397 

To  swing  the  foot,  or  tap  monotonously  with  the 
feet,  to  drum  with  the  fingers  on  a  table  or  window, 
are  all  breaches  of  etiquette. 

It  is  ill-bred  to  speak  of  persons  with  whom  you  are 
but  slightly  acquainted,  by  their  first  name. 

Mysterious  allusions  are  rude. 

Flattery  is  a  breach  of  etiquette.  Johnson  says: 
"  Of  all  wild  beasts,  preserve  me  from  a  tyrant;  and 
of  all  tame,  a  flatterer." 

No  gentleman  may  ever  break  an  engagement, 
whether  it  be  one  of  business  or  pleasure,  with  a  lady, 
or  with  another  gentleman.  To  break  an  engagement 
with  a  lady  is  almost  certain  to  give  lasting  offence, 
and  with  good  cause. 

Irritability  is  a  breach  of  good  manners.  Watts 
says:  "  To  be  angry  about  trifles  is  mean  and  childish; 
to  rage  and  be  furious  is  brutish;  and  to  maintain  per- 
petual wrath  is  akin  to  the  practice  and  temper  of 
fiends;  but  to  prevent  and  suppress  rising  resentment 
is  wise  and  glorious,  is  manly  and  divine." 

Nothing  marks  a  gentleman  more  truly  than  a  strict 
punctuality.  To  keep  another  waiting  is  a  breach  of 
etiquette,  as  well  as  often  a  positive  unkindness. 

To  answer  a  civil  question  rudely,  or  even  impa 
tiently,  is  a  gross  breach  of  etiquette.     Even  if  it  in- 
conveniences you  or  interrupts  you,  it  will  take  no 


398  RULES  FOR  BEHAVIOR. 

longer  to  answer  kindly  or  politely  than  to  wound  or 
offend  by  crustiness. 

No  gentleman  may  ever  refuse  an  apology.  No 
matter  how  great  the  offence,  how  deep  the  resent- 
ment, an  apology  can  never  be  rejected.  It  may  not 
again  revive  friendship;  but  it  must  prevent  quarrel- 
ing. 

An  invalid,  an  elderly  person,  or  a  lady,  must  be 
given  the  most  comfortable  chair  in  the  room,  must  be 
allowed  to  select  the  light  and  temperature,  and  no 
true  lady  or  gentleman  will  ever  object  to  the  exercise 
of  the  privilege. 

To  assume  a  lazy,  lounging  attitude  in  company  is 
unmannerly.  If  any  one  is  too  weak  or  too  ill  to  sit 
up  and  assume  a  proper  position,  he  had  better  stay 
at  home  until  he  is  stronger  or  in  better  health. 

Never  rise  to  take  leave  in  the  midst  of  an  interest- 
ing conversation;  wait  until  there  is  a  pause,  and  then 
withdraw,  with  as  little  disturbance  as  possible. 

It  is  proper,  before  taking  a  place  at  table,  to  say 
"Good  morning,"  or  "Good  evening,"  to  those  in  the 
room  before  you,  and  especially  to  those  who  preside 
over  the  meal. 

It  is  a  breach  of  etiquette  to  go  into  company  with 
the  breath  tainted  by  eating  onions,  garlic,  cheese,  or 
any  other  strong-scented  food. 


MISCELLANEOUS,  399 

» 

It  is  a  breach  of  etiquette  for  a  gentleman  to  enter 
a  lady's  presence  smelling  of  tobacco  or  wine. 

To  notice,  by  look  or  word,  any  deformity,  any  scar 
or  misfortune  to  the  face  or  figure  of  a  friend,  is  not 
only  a  breach  of  etiquette  of  the  grossest  kind,  but  is 
a  want  of  humanity  and  good  feeling  as  well. 

It  is  a  breach  of  etiquette  to  lean  heavily  upon  a 
table;  and  also  to  tip  a  chair  to  and  fro  when  you  are 
talking;  and  you  will  be  justly  punished  if  you  find 
yourself  sprawling  on  the  floor  with  the  chair  on  top 
of  you. 

The  man  who  will  insult  his  inferiors  is  a  boor  at 
heart,  however  polished  he  may  appear  amongst  his 
equals,  or  however  deferential  to  his  superiors. 

To  imitate  the  manners,  voice,  attitude,  or  gestures 
of  great  men  were  a  folly  almost  too  absurd  to  men- 
tion if  it  were  not  so  common.  Many  persons,  from  a 
real  or  fancied  personal  resemblance  to  some  celebrity, 
will  ape  their  manners  also,  as  if  mere  appearance 
would  make  them  equally  distinguished. 

"  The  scholar,  without  good  breeding,  is  a  pedant; 
the  philosopher,  a  cynic;  the  soldier,  a  brute;  and 
every  man  disagreeable,"  says  Chesterfield. 

Bishop  Beveridge  says:  "  Never  speak  of  a  man's 
virtues  before  his  face,  nor  of  his  faults  behind  his 
back." 


400  RULES  FOR  BEHAVIOR. 

"  In  private,  watch  your  thoughts;  in  your  family, 
watch  your  temper;  in  society,  watch  your  tongue." 

"  To  arrive  at  the  heart  of  true  courtesy,"  says  a 
modern  writer,  "  separate  the  old  English  titles  for  the 
well-bred;  they  were  the  gentle-m&n.  and  gentle- 


woman." 


It  is  better  to  live  alone  than  in  low  company.  If 
you  cannot  keep  good  company,  keep  none. 

Sterne  thus  defines  courtship:  "  True  courtship  con- 
sists in  a  number  of  quiet,  gentlemanly  attentions; 
not  so  pointed  as  to  alarm,  not  so  vague  as  to  be  mis- 
understood." 

It  is  a  breach  of  etiquette  to  enter  a  room  noisily, 
slamming  the  door,  or  stamping  heavily  upon  the 
floor. 

Spitting  is  as  vulgar  as  it  is  disgusting. 

It  is  ill-bred  to  refuse  the  last  piece  on  the  plate  or 
dish,  if  it  is  offered  to  you,  as  it  implies  a  fear  that 
there  is  no  more  in  the  pantry. 

To  yawn,  blow  the  nose  loudly,  suck  or  pick  the 
teet\  or  clean  the  nails  in  company,  are  breaches  of 
etiquette. 

Gentlemen  should  never  stand  upon  the  hearthrug 
with  their  backs  to  the  fire,  either  in  a  friend's  house 
or  their  own. 


RETURN  TO  DESK  FROM  WHICH  BORROWED 

LOAN  DEPT. 

This  book  is  due  on  the  last  date  stamped  below,  or 
on  die  date  to  which  renewed. 

Renewed  books  are  subject  to  immediate  recall. 


5Jan'6lEIVJ 


RECEIVED  E 


y       RETURNED  TO; 


DEC  -  -    • 

•  ^—  '._ 


DEC  2*1970 


CIRCULATION  DE)>r.      IOAN    AHC 





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21A-50m-4,'60 
(A9562slO)476B 


General  Library 

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Berkeley 


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THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  LIBRARY 


